Thank You!

Hello everyone!

I just wanted to thank everyone who joined us at the Lifemax Annual Conference 2009. It was definitely a magical weekend! Jimbo and I were once again blown away by the energy and love that we felt from each and every one of you.

This past year we grew as a company and more importantly we grew as a couple. Lifemax has brought some much more “life” to our lives. There was something about the conference that made us more aware of our vision and where we are headed. This past year, we tried to take everything one day at a time and to take the good and the bad and improve in all areas.

Thank you for being so sweet and understanding as we work to lay the proper foundation for the future. As we go into the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, we want you all to know that we are thankful for so many things.

 

First, we are thankful that you made the decision to join us on this mission to “Change the Health and Wealth of the World.”

We are thankful for our committed corporate family. Without them, none of this would be possible.

We are thankful for you and your love and support.

We are thankful that Mila has improved the quality of life for so many of you.

And lastly, we are thankful that we have had the opportunity and the honor to be your founders.

We hope that everyone has a safe and happy holiday season!

Creative Visualization and Faith

I want to take a moment to share with you my thoughts on creative visualization and faith. First of all, the power of the human mind is incredible. Creative visualization is much more than positive thinking. Don’t get me wrong, positive thinking is an extremely worthwhile exercise and we should all try to have as many positive thoughts as we can every day. However, creative visualization goes much further than this.

Creative visualization is the art of creating pictures in your mind to obtain whatever it is that you desire. It is by far one of the most useful tools and skills I have developed to get us where we are today. But to master this alone is not nearly enough. Not only do you need to visualize what it is you want but the key component to achieving your goals of what you are visualizing is to have FAITH. I feel that it is faith that brings everything to pass. Faith is the confident belief or trust in a person, idea or thing. It involves the concept of future events or outcomes and is used conversely for a belief not resting on logical proof or material evidence. For 20 years now, I have called out, wrote out, and acted out what I wanted long before the evidence appeared of what I had faith in. I have proven to myself over and over again that the so-called faith “thing” really works.
 
Don’t let your situation control you, no matter how bad or how good it is. It can and will always get better. Practice visualizing what you want and step out on faith as if it is already there.

When Jimbo and I were living off of our credit cards and more than $90,000 in debt, we stepped out on faith everyday and claimed that we were going to get out of debt overnight. No one could tell us that this wouldn’t happen; I believed it in my bones. We claimed that every day and every night for three straight years, day in and day out. Then suddenly out of nowhere, it happened. After working on a real estate project for six months, we were handed a check in the amount of $131,000! It was just as we had visualized over and over in our minds. We were out of debt overnight.

I am writing about this because I want to encourage you all to step up your game plan. Visualize more, have more faith and watch and wait. You will amaze yourself if you practice this and make it a part of your everyday life. Trust me on this…just do it!

Take it to the max!

Sherri

Summer Tour 2009-Ontario, Canada

We wrapped up our Summer Tour in Ontario, Canada this past July. I hope that my Canadian friends do not think that I forgot about them! Not a chance! I could never forget any one of you!

I would like to start this off by saying that what I had been told about Canadians could not be further from the truth. What was I told, you ask? Good question.

I was told that Canadians were standoffish and reserved. I was told not to be so “huggy” and for sure not to talk about God, because they would not appreciate that at all.

Let me just tell you what my experience was all about. We started off Friday night by walking into a room of about 35 people and each and every person there got up and greeted Jimbo and I with…you guessed it…BIG HUGS!

I was a little shocked because this was not what I expected.

There were also lots of teary eyes as people thanked us for bringing Mila to the world.

“I now have my quality of life back,” said one.
“I am no longer in bed all day fighting fibromyalgia,” said another.
“I am no longer depressed,” offered one more.
And so on.

Burt got up and addressed the room by stating the importance of putting God first and having the right intentions. He said that if you those priorities then sooner or later, everything will fall into its proper place.

Elaina Pring did an amazing job setting up the meeting in Burlington with the help of Collette Ertel and Karen Whyte. I’ve had the privilege of knowing Elaina since we pre-launched Lifemax back in May 2008 and I have to say that her energy and enthusiasm is contagious. The entire group touched our hearts and kept us smiling the entire time we were there.

On a side note…I have a new calling as well. My plan is to become a “Chrome Diva” before all is said and done! All kidding aside, the mission and the charity work that the “Chrome Divas” do is incredible!

Saturday we headed to the home of Canada’s top Leader and Director, Ron Druyan. We once again were greeted with hugs and warmth. Ron and Gitit had a wonderful lunch set up on their lawn. The food was fantastic and so was the company! I enjoyed my many conversations with Nick, Maria, Alison, Tom, Karen and all of the others!

Ron has earned such incredible respect from his team. He sets the example of what to do, what systems to follow, and how to follow through each time. We are particularly excited about Ron’s connections in Singapore and Israel, as he is helping us to make Lifemax a global name faster than we could ever have imagined.

We especially enjoyed the quality time spent getting to know both Ron and Gitit during our dinner later that evening. I swear I still had the “giggles” days later, thanks to Gitit getting my sense of humor!

On Sunday, we thoroughly enjoyed meeting Julie and Aubrey in the hotel lobby. We were able to have some one-on-one time with them before heading out to Cindy Sellner’s parents’ home. While there, we were the guests of honor at an all-day Open House. In four hours time, we met with about 30 distributors and enjoyed the array of sweet treats that Cindy had prepared. FYI…I am still trying to work off the seven brownies that I had for lunch that day. Yum!

Cindy is another person that I met at the Pre-launch. You cannot help but remember her due to her strong personality, determination and drive to succeed. After the Open House we followed Cindy to Collette’s and Joe’s unbelievable home, where we enjoyed an intimate dinner cooked by the “famous” culinary expert, Cindy. She prepared a full course meal of fried local perch, mashed potatoes, celery bread and yet more awesome desserts! After that meal, Cindy and Colette can both be dubbed as the “hostesse with the mostest.” Smiles!

The Leaders in Canada – Ron, Collette, Cindy, Elaina and Karen – are the driving force as to why Canada ranked in the Top Five volume-driving regions. After meeting everyone in person, it was evident that the Leadership is the number one reason for this accomplishment.

Thanks to Collette we were able to find a great hotel with an even greater view overlooking Niagara Falls. I can now check this off of my list of things that I wanted to see and do in my life!

Life Lesson: I learned a valuable life lesson in Canada which is to NEVER let someone else’s perception of how people or a situation are cloud your own judgment. You have to go into situations with an open heart and no prejudgments based upon someone else’s experiences or feelings.

Summer Tour 2009-California

WOW!!!

That single word pretty much sums up our California stop on the 2009 Summer Tour!

We really couldn’t have gotten off to a better start than we did.

Our day started with a 7:30 am call from Ray Singletary. He gave me a list of names and numbers and said “these people are waiting for your call right now.” Being a little jetlagged and not having even one cup of coffee, I said to Ray, “Give me 10 minutes and I will be right on it.”

Our first appointment was with Lee Caplin, one of the producers of the movie Ali. From the moment he sat down with us, it was as if we had known each other our entire lives. We gave him the “good ole fire hose” as Jimbo and I call it… blasting him with 60 minutes of what Mila and Lifemax are all about and will accomplish in the future. A whole lot of information for someone to take in such a short period of time!

Lee shared with us that he was on statin drugs for his high-cholesterol. We immediately gifted him a bag of Mila to include into his diet and we are waiting to hear his results.

We are never really sure what someone is thinking when we “fire hose” them about Lifemax. All we can do is hope that we got our point across and that the information is understandable and exciting to them. Our philosophy is to just do the best we can and leave the rest up to fate. I guess that the fire hose worked this time, as Lee called us a little later and asked if we could extend our stay for day so that we could meet some of his closest friends and business partners share the same information with them. All I can say is he was right and it appears that we and Lee and his friends are a match made in heaven. Again, WOW!

The evening could not have been any better!!! We pulled up at John Tucker’s home in the California hills. Double WOW! John and Leighann’s home was gorgeous. We “mixed and mingled with Mila” from 6pm until almost midnight. We met so many amazing Lifemaxer’s, each one as full of energy, passion and love for Mila and Lifemax — Judy, Tammy, Tracey, Patty, Jill, Christy, Vicki, Deana and Leighann – just to name a few. Of course, the guys were there, too!!

I had more fun at John and Leighann’s than I had had in a long time. I laughed so much that night, and at one point Mary and I got the giggles so bad that we couldn’t stop ourselves no matter how hard we tried. Leighann was the life of the party! I felt like I was at a comedy show. Up until that day, we had only heard about John Tucker but I have now discovered that Leighann is the one to deal with! Denise Kato, Maria Groezinger, Jimbo and I were the last to leave.

Saturday, with no rest for the weary, we started our day off the same as we ended the night before – with Denise and Maria. Together we brainstormed and talked strategy and came up with some really good ideas to increase their Lifemax business. Throughout the day we also met with Jill, Deana, Ashley (welcome to Lifemax), Tony, Christy and Tammy Burnell and two of her five children.

We finished off the night with a wonderful dinner with Hector “calling it like I see it” Padilla and his lovely wife Patty. We really enjoyed our time with them and getting to know each other on a more personal level. We laughed a lot as we shared our personal stories and hearts with them.

Sunday was over the top! We attended church services with Marla Maples and her beautiful daughter, Tiffany. Agape-Michael Beckaiths Church was such a delight. It was so full of love for God, God’s people, and the planet. I don’t think the smile left my face the entire time we were there.

After church we enjoyed a ride on a gorgeous yacht with Marla, Tiffany and our new friends Len, Kam, Phillip, and Phyllis. Thanks again for a fabulous day. Marla – you are an angel and a dear friend!

We then met up with Eran Blitzblau and Jennifer Brooks back at our hotel. I was so impressed with the two of them. First, Erin is one of the main driving forces for our global expansion into Israel and second, Jen is the only person I have ever known to know more than Jimbo about nutrition and health. Way to go girl!

Monday, we met back up with Lee Caplin and his partners at Howard Hughes’ former studio. All I can say at this time is God works in mysterious ways. One of my favorite sayings is “God can orchestrate anything if we will just let him”

We finished the evening off with an appearance on the Monday night conference call where Jimbo talked passionately about Lifemax. He did get a little teary-eyed, but for those of you who have been around for a while, you know that is Jimbo! Since it was still very early for us with the three hour time difference, we took a drive through Beverly Hills and looked at all of the beautiful homes. I was a little taken back when we passed what we all have been seeing on the news this past week – Michael Jackson’s tribute scene. He was loved by many. I guess I will end with this…

Be good to yourself.

Don’t be so hard on yourself.

Do the best you can with what you have.

Push yourself to become more and accomplish more tomorrow than you did today.

Love deeply and walk humbly and know NONE of us are promised tomorrow.

Summary and overall feeling of California visit

I have been to California a dozen times for work and play. Up until this past trip I never really paid much attention to the energy that seems to hover over the state. The people that we met seem to have this natural ability to be creative and think outside of the box. They have also set the right expectations for their Lifemax business. Although they are nearly 3,000 miles away from the Corporate office and don’t have the opportunity to participate in a lot of weekly meetings held on the East Coast, they understand that you need to put in a lot of hard work and a lot of blood, sweat and tears before things really pay off.

Each person’s commitment to Lifemax and Mila was clearly evident, as was their dedication to this journey and seeing it through to its final destination! Way to go, California Lifemaxers! I hope to see you all when we reach the top of the mountain!

Summer Tour 2009-South Carolina

Our South Carolina tour was a little longer than the previous trips because we decided to drive instead of fly so that we could cover more territory. With the car loaded down for our three-day trip, Jimbo, Logan and I hit the highway on May 23. Our visit began in Hilton Head Island with our favorite breakfast that Jackie Wear (my mother-in-law) loves to cook up whenever the Wear family is all together. You can’t beat a Southern traditional breakfast of homemade biscuits, ham and gravy! Yummmm…what a great way to start the day!

Later we had a great cookout at the beach hosted by Lauren Martel and Darby Davis. It was great to finally put the names to the faces. We met people that have been with us for the past several months as well as families that had just joined Lifemax that day.

After spending Memorial Day with the entire Wear family, we set about getting back to work. We planted ourselves at the Marriott on the island for a full day of one-on-ones and group meetings. We ended the evening attending a Business Opportunity presentation hosted by Kevin and Jimmy Wear and were pleased to have over 50 people in attendance. We spent an extra hour sharing our hearts with our ever-growing Hilton Head family. It was so nice spending time with the Hanleys, the Broomes, the Guptas, Janet Collins, Stacey Levin, the Morgans, the Martels, Miss Donna and all of the others from the area.

On May 29, we headed to Greenville where we spent a casual evening with Toni and Ken Clark and their Greenville team. I thoroughly enjoyed judging a “Fabulous, Fit and Forties” pageant all to raise awareness for breast cancer. Toni Clark and I discussed her many creative ideas on how to grow her Lifemax business. She has really taken to heart my advice on thinking outside of the box to grow her business!

The next day we attended the first Super Saturday in Greenville with one of our favorite Founding Distributors, Brian Bilbro. I have to say, I was overjoyed to see the progress Brian has made over the past year. He was “spot-on” and undoubtedly has become a major leader in Lifemax.

Tuesday, June 2, we temporarily “crossed the border” and enjoyed a pot-luck dinner at my mom Janie Peeler’s house in Flat Rock, North Carolina. She spent all day in the kitchen and made two pots of her incredible homemade spaghetti. It is my absolute favorite food that my mom makes and  it made it feel like coming home. It was such a pleasure to spend one-on-one time with everyone, especially my dear friends Rudy Jones and Linwood Watford.

We headed out the next day to spend one-on-one time with Darby Davis and his team in Columbia, SC. There we chatted with Pat Odom and were impressed with his drive and attitude. We also had the opportunity to receive some great ideas from Darby and Scott and Courtney Hunter. We wrapped up the evening at the Walden’s beautiful home which was secluded and situated on a lake and totally reminded me why I love South Carolina. We thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to fellowship with many like-minded people.

Thursday morning we hit the ground running in Charleston with back-to-back group meetings in the office of Dr. Mark Luckie. He had what he calls “Lunch and Learn” meetings. Dr. Luckie has uniquely figured out how to manage his chiropractic business alongside his Lifemax business. As he says, “They fit together like a hand and glove.” His leadership qualities are stellar and although he has never been in network marketing, he has proven that all you have to do is follow the system and share Mila and your business will grow.

Thursday evening was finished off with yet another creative venue in which to hold a meeting. We met up with Randall Dukes and his growing team at the salon where he works with about 45 people in attendance. I have to say that I did not want the meeting to end, not only because of the amazing team, but mostly because of the delicious Mila brownies. I had FOUR of them…for DINNER!

Friday morning we had the privilege of meeting Darby Davis, Ken Good and Fred Lund’s teams. Ken and Fred have one of the best “Team Offices” that we have seen so far. Their commitment to building their Lifemax business is so strong that they collectively leased office space in which to conduct their business. While there, we met with several young individuals who have embraced the vision of Lifemax and are on-board and committed to taking their business to the top. It felt very satisfying to meet young people with that type of drive and determination.

Next, we enjoyed a quick lunch with Bill Gadol and headed to meet with someone who has become close to my heart, his wife Karen. Their passion for Mila rivals our own. Thank you for all you contribute to Lifemax!

Karen set up a meeting at a local birthing center with several physicians, physician assistants and midwives. We enjoyed sharing why Mila and its components are important to expectant mothers and their babies. I could not help but get a little emotional sitting there looking at the photos of the moms and their newborns. The reason for my tears is that when you have a child, it is one of the most special things that can happen in your life. This I know because of my Logan!

Since we have started Lifemax, I have met several parents who have an autistic child. Autism has such a strong hold on me because of all that I have learned about what the families have to endure. Being there at the birthing center, it hit me that we never know what life holds – the good, the bad and the just plain difficult. One thing is for sure, we all have to play the hand we are dealt. I know that Lifemax is making it easier on a lot of families for a lot of different reasons. For this, I thank God for bringing Mila to us all.

After the birthing center, we went to a community church and spoke to a group of people from the Philippines. We shared with them our vision of setting things in place to make improvements and to change the face of “Smokey Mountain” in Manila. For those who don’t know, 20,000 Filipinos (including children) live in this smoldering trash dump in the city and are subjected to constant fumes and toxins and usually their food source is pulled from the discarded trash. This is one of our whys!

Saturday morning, we met with one of my favorite pastors who also happens to be a Lifemax distributor. His name is Don Shackleford. He arranged for us to speak to a group of 15 pastors from the surrounding area. Just as God would have it, we also had the privilege of speaking with one of the top chiefs from a tribe in Sierra Leone in Africa. We shared our World Vision with them and the actions we are taking now to move forward and make a difference. The Chief was sent here by the President of Sierra Leone to raise awareness of the starvation epidemic in their country. This chance meeting has now put us in good standing with the President of Sierra Leone and will make the customs process of importing necessary foods easier.

One of my favorite moments of the trip occurred shortly after this meeting when the Gadols, the Santanellas and us discussed how God really has a way of surprising you when you just let go and TRUST HIM COMPLETELY.

Before heading out of Charleston, we gathered one more time at a neighborhood clubhouse to share our stories and say goodbye…that is until our annual meeting here in Orlando.

Summary and overall feeling of the Carolinas

My main goal of this Summer Tour 2009 was to walk away and feel like I made some new friends instead of just meeting distributors. My goal was accomplished! Boy, these people sure aren’t afraid of a little hard work. Phew…time for a little rest before hitting the West Coast.

I would personally like to thank each and every one of you for being personally committed to Lifemax and our vision. The South Carolina teams all had one thing in common. No matter how big or small their organization is, they all said “we are having fun!”

This trip was emotional for Jimbo and me, for the reason that we met many people who had amazing testimonials as to what Mila has done for them personally. The testimonies included those who saw improvements with Alzheimer disease, diabetes, neuropathy, Hepatitis C, and my personal cause, autism.

Thank you to everyone for being such spiritual and powerful leaders for all of South Carolina. Your talents, abilities and vision will lead you and you teams to victory.

(P.S. Janet…YOU ROCK!)

Summer Tour 2009-Boston

On May 15, we landed in Boston, Massachusetts. We were picked up by our #1 guy, “Diamond Chris” Prefontaine and his beautiful wife Kim. We were taken to Sarah and John Paino’s home where we enjoyed a wonderful dinner and were greeted by 50 of our Lifemax family members. We were fortunate to have had a chance to enjoy some down time and great conversations with everyone. John and Sarah’s home was so beautiful and absolutely the perfect place for this get-together. The evening could not have been any better. We ended the night close to midnight, but Jimbo and I were so pumped and could not sleep because of the pure excitement that the Massachusetts crowd brought to us. Saturday morning we headed to Tina and Bob Mulhern’s home. We had a smaller, more intimate meeting with a group that could not make it to the dinner the night before. We heard amazing testimonies from several people and were joined by a group from Vietnam through Skype. Although Lifemax has no plans to open Vietnam any time soon, it would appear the ground work is being laid. We then headed to Hingham to meet with a distributor who has become one of my dearest friends, Barbara Reid. We did a business opportunity meeting with about 45 people at the County Library (a very creative place to hold a meeting, by the way). Once again, amazing testimonies were shared. It seems we all have more and more testimonies about children experiencing great effects from taking Mila. We found it to be pretty funny, that a group of about 15 of us just could not stop talking about the benefits of Mila.  We talked so long that the conversation was ended for us when we were kicked out of the Library because it was closing. That certainly did not stop us; we then took the conversation to the parking lot. I can now add this to my list of “been there, done that.”
 
Been kicked out of a Public Library…check!

We then headed to the home of Sheela and Bill Calhoun and enjoyed a great dinner with 30 or so Lifemaxers. We ended the evening around 11pm. Good Times! That Sunday, we gathered with ten of the most dedicated and loving women we have in the Boston area. We talked for 4 straight hours about their Lifemax business. We discussed what was working, what was good and what needed to be improved on. This was a very informative meeting for Jimbo and me. We then had the pleasure of speaking with Linda Fialkoff and Sonny Rose who kindly drove us to the airport for our flight home. The hugs good-bye felt like hugs that your real blood family members give.

Summary and overall feeling of Boston visit
In this area we have so many health and nutrition specialists that understand the benefits of Mila and want to spread the word as quickly as possible. It was felt and expressed by so many that the World Vision of Lifemax is the driving force behind all the hard work. This region seems to be enlightened to a degree that to really live is to really love and change lives. Chris Prefontaine has done an outstanding job of laying the proper foundation and leading with integrity. He is well-loved and respected by all of his team members.

Summer Tour 2009 – West Palm Beach

Greetings to all of our faithful Lifemaxers!

I wanted to take a moment and update you on how the 2009 Summer Tour has been going thus far.

We kicked off the tour in West Palm Beach, Florida on May 9 by attending the Super Saturday, where over 70 people were in attendance. We had the opportunity to meet with nearly 50 brand new distributors who were already full of energy and passion for Mila. Terri and Anthony Ballestero continue to do an amazing job seeing to it that their 2nd, 3rd and 4th tier team members are being trained to speak on-stage and to lead by example.

On Sunday, we had a relaxing day and enjoyed getting to know several Lifemax family members. We took a boat ride down the Intercoastal with Jody & Gordon Moore, Francine Tice, Lanny Horwitz and Terri and Anthony. The next morning started promptly at 10am with one-on-one meetings with the leaders and rising stars of West Palm. This was a full and exciting day which didn’t end until 6pm. Jimbo and I were amazed at the focus and determination of the leaders in West Palm! We then headed for a Pot Luck dinner at Lisa Miller’s beautiful home hosted by Lisa Miller and Loren Robin. Once there, we had the opportunity to “Meet and Mingle with Mila” as Terry Ballestero has creatively phrased.

Summary and overall feeling of West Palm Beach visit
The leadership in West Palm is probably one of the strongest we have in Lifemax. The leaders are doing a superb job on training their 2nd, 3rd and 4th tier leadership as they step-up to the plate and learn to take on a leadership role for themselves. They are focused on learning this business and even more focused on making money. We have a lot of strong, confident and focused WOMEN in West Palm which makes me smile. From the West Palm group, we have many that have been with us since right after the Pre-Launch in May. Their commitment and dedication is a blessing to Jimbo and me.

Next Stop…BOSTON!

Stop and Smell the Roses!

Hello, Lifemaxers!

I am sorry that it has been a while since I have written, but the time had come where I had to put first things first!

And I am not talking about Lifemax.

Are you surprised? Well, don’t be. Believe it or not, Lifemax is not first in my life. God is and will always be first, but a close second is my family and friends.

We’ve just returned from celebrating Logan’s first-ever Spring Break. We enjoyed a week at the beach and immediately after a little rest and relaxation, we headed off to Dallas for the April 4th Super Saturday.

Let me just share with you what was laid upon my heart while away – it was the importance of taking time to spend with family and friends.

One of my family’s favorite sayings is “Let’s take some time to stop and smell the roses.” In fact, if we were ever in danger of forgetting this, our Logan is always there reminding us to “smell roses!” We were fortunate to be able to do just that on this trip.

It’s a big life we are all called to live. We all have hopes, desires, and dreams that were placed there by God. We run in this rat race every day, and let’s be honest, some days are better than others. Some years, we achieve more than we did the year before. As we are rushing and running to pursue greatness, it is important that we don’t neglect what really matters in life. It is not cars and houses. It is not education or careers. And it is not how much money we have (or don’t have) in the bank. It is EACH OTHER! We are a gift to one another, given to us by God himself.

I want to encourage you to slow down just a little and take some time to “smell the roses,” too! Smile at your children more often. Reach for your mate’s hand for no reason at all. Leave love notes, thank yous and other notes of encouragement, just because. Pack a picnic lunch and sit with your family or friends by a lake or ocean, or even your backyard.

We did this while on vacation and the moments were priceless!

In the end, nothing else matters. Nothing, except for the impact that you make on your loved ones. Don’t put family and friends on the back burner while you are chasing your dream. Live in the moment of one of the best things we can ever have…relationships.

During our trip to Dallas, we took some time and spent it with Paul Rogers and his family. It was so wonderful to hang out for the day just as friends. For four hours, we were not the Founders of Lifemax, nor the C.E.O. We were just two families enjoying the moment and making memories and fellowshipping. We created so many special memories that the pictures will be keepsakes forever!

The point of this is that we are not promised tomorrow. We never know when it will be the last time we talk to or see those special people in our life. Don’t rush and run so fast towards achievement and money that you miss out on what’s important…each other!

With all my love,

Sherri

(P.S. Jimbo and I discovered on our trip that despite his city upbringing, Logan is a country boy at heart! Most importantly we took the time to “smell the roses.” Hope you will, too!)

Take Control Over Your Body

Have you been thinking about the area or areas of your life that are out of control? Have you figured out how to start the process of bringing forth change?

We all understand the importance of taking control over our lives but, for the most part, we don’t actually do it. This is partly because we don’t know HOW to do it.

It is my belief, that in order for us to make changes to or take control of our mind and lives, we must first control our flesh.

Our fleshly desires can be a beautiful thing, especially if they are desires such as eating healthy, exercising, drinking plenty of water, or getting the appropriate amount of rest. However, often times, we let our body control us instead of us controlling our body.

Now, be honest with yourself.

Have you let yourself get to the point where you let the comfort of the couch override your need for exercise? Have you consumed alcohol or puffed on cigarettes in excess, maybe just take the edge off or unwind? Do you constantly hit the drive-thru or opt for processed foods at the supermarket instead of nourishing your body with healthy, whole foods?

I can’t tell you how many times I have said “I’ll start to work out/eat healthy/quit drinking/etc.on Monday.” Then Monday comes and goes and then the next Monday comes and goes. Can anyone else relate?

We have to treat our bodies better if we want to feel better. Our flesh will, for the most part, take the path of least resistance. Your mind might WANT to exercise, but your body tells you that you are too tired. Your mind KNOWS that you need to eat more vegetables to maintain proper health, but your body craves cookies instead. You KNOW that you must drink water to hydrate yourself, but find yourself popping the top on a soda. Why do we sometimes listen to our body and let it override our mind?

I believe that this is due to habits formed over time and not taking control of our thoughts. How do we start taking control?

I think that it comes down to planning. We need to first make a list of the bad habits that we need to break in order to live a better, more balanced, and healthier life. This way, we can focus on letting our mind lead our bodies in the positive direction. This is just the beginning!

Here is to us getting both our bodies and minds under control.

Sherri

Follow the Rules to Self-Control…

In the last message, we discussed the definition of self-mastery, which is the control of one’s behavior.

So how does one go about controlling their behavior?

You can start by taking a long, hard look at yourself. I suggest that you make a list in your journal (you have started your journal, right?) of the things you would like to change about your life. For example:

 - I want to lose 25 pounds.
 - I would like to have more time to myself.
 - I would like to read more/pray more/travel more etc.
 - I would like to spend more time with my family and friends.
 - I would like to make more money.

You get the idea. Once you have done this, ask yourself, “How can I accomplish this?”

My opinion is that we have to set some rules to live by. If we have no self-discipline, then how will we ever be able to obtain self-control?

Discipline can be defined in numerous ways. For our purposes, the definition of discipline is to instruct a person or animal to follow a particular code of conduct or the training expected to produce a specific character or pattern of behavior.

So, it is really simple. We, no matter what age we are, need to constantly train ourselves to control our behavior, our time, our thoughts, our speech and our actions. We were expected to live by the rules as children, and forced to suffer the consequences when we did not. The rules were there for a reason, right? Somehow, over time, “playing by the rules” has taken a back seat to other qualities.

What is stopping you from achieving mastery over yourself?

For many of us, it comes down to the fact that we have forgotten the importance of discipline and setting rules to live by. Without being too hard on yourself, take the time to identify some rules for yourself and ask yourself these two questions.

1. What area of my life is out of control?
2. What can I do today to start the process of bringing forth the change I would like to experience?

Once you have identified the areas in your life that need to change, then you can start on the path towards change. We have to take control over our own lives – ENJOY THE JOURNEY!

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