I’m often asked what the single most important aspect of my success. Is it education? Training? Tenacity? Motivation?

For me, the single most important personal aspect is my rebelliousness.

Funny, most of my life I conformed to what was expected. I did 9-5 jobs that were ‘secure’ and consistent. I bought into traditional health care and education, I got married, had a child, got that mortgage.

But deep down inside I’ve always been a rebel. I sucked at conforming….don’t get me wrong, on the surface it all looked good. I was doing what I was supposed to do, what kept me in line, safe, towing the party line. But deep inside, my spirit was drying up.

Then came weights….ahhh, I was liberated. Thirty years ago there simply were no women weight training (perfect!), so it was the perfect opportunity for me to create a lifestyle that bucked the very system I was slowly being swallowed up by.

I see this same rebelliousness in all the women I weight train today. They are all out there in their own little worlds, in various countries, all on my on-line programs, all bucking expectations, women who dare to better their bodies and take the heat for it (like the best friend that tells you you’re getting too skinny, and to stop all this ‘dieting and training stuff’…yep, the worst undercutters are still female friends and family).  

These past 2 weeks I’ve had the pleasure of talking with over 30 women from my 10 and 12-Week Best Shape Challenges with their free 30-minute coaching call with me, and I am always so impressed with their tenacity, commitment, honesty and focus.

It’s not to say they are always staying the course…there are times when we all get knocked off our training and best intentions at healthy eating, but they have that inner ‘grrr’, that conviction that says, “I’m worth it,” and they get back up and carry on. They buck a system that says women are supposed to take care of others first (martyrdom), who are not supposed to ask questions of their doctor (my doctor would love if I learned that one!), that the 9-5 grind in a lifeless job brings us security and a healthy retirement (yawn). They rebel against stereotypes (stay soft, small, non-confrontational) and they defer to authority, bosses, husbands, doctors…those in supposed positions of power (I won’t even get into that one!).

All my women are learning (and I’m learning from them) that owning and growing our precious power is not about a certain position, a job, or an income. It’s a thought process, a choice that starts in our heads. And the ability to see life as choice, and to rebel against the powers-that-be that keep us small is our god-given right as people, as women, mothers, sisters and wives. 

So when you feel small or marginialized by a system that isn’t quite set up to set you free, go to the gym. Lift that weight. Connect to that power. Make it grow. And take that out into the world. It’s your gift, your right, your privelege.

karen

PS: Sign up for my popular 10-Week Best Shape of YOUR Life Challenge has begun. Grab your seat today! ONLY 20 SPOTS!

At Real Women, Real Success Wednesday night, the crowd asked me what my definition of success was. Easy. For me, it was finding and living my life’s purpose.

After the show, women came up to chat with me and we continued the conversation. And I am receiving many emails regarding this very thing every day….

It took me until the tender age of 48 to find my purpose. Prior to that I floundered for many, many years. I didn’t want a ‘job’, I wanted to wake up every day excited about my contribution to the world, and be able to make a living at it, to live and work my passion. What a great combination! I simply did not want to live the ‘traditional’ way that has us watching the clock till quitting time, waiting for paid holidays, working to earn a pension and retire (play it safe, girlie!), and then what? I wanted to live for each and every day, with health, energy, certainty, passion and purpose! I simply hated to conform…it was sucking my spirit dry. 

When I created McCoy Fitness & Health, my health improved dramatically and my spirit soared. And it’s still up there, circling the stratosphere! And every day I feel eternally grateful and certain about why I’m here and my role in the big picture. I’m here to share my knowledge and inspire women to live healthy, full, rich lives in body, mind and spirit, and they know that I walk among them as their equal, as we all struggle with overcoming challenges, self doubt, fear, confusion and loss. 

So how do you know your life’s purpose? In my paid Monthly Healthy Living Program we have Tele-coaching calls, and several months ago, our theme was this very thing. I want to share this with all of you, in hopes that it may ‘spark’ something in you, to help move you out of your rut and into your life’s purpose.

But here’s a glimpse for you…start writing down on a piece of paper what you think it may be……keep writing….what you love to do? What would your perfect day be? (It must include being of service, that’s purpose). It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t come right away…it may take minutes or days.

When you finally come to a sentence that makes you cry….you know you’ve found your life’s purpose!

Please enjoy Finding Your Life’s Purpose. (Click on the link to listen!)

karen

PS: Many thanks for your queries about my book, One Rep at a Time. It is available at Munro’s, Russel Books and Bolen Books in Victoria, Tanners in Sidney, and Amazon.com and Amazon.ca. And it includes the 8-Week Bliss Body Makeover Program for free! Enjoy!

Last night I had the pleasure of joining about 250 women at the Raymond James’ Real Women, Real Success symposium in Victoria.

As I drove to the lecture, I was trying to gather my thoughts and prepare myself for what the audience would likely ask me and the other panelists.

What is your defnition of success? What advice can you offer other women on the path to success? What traits do you need to be a truly successful women?

Here’s the thing: I had a hard time thinking I was a successful women.

Really? Me? Someone who still struggles with building her company, who has long days and nights away from her family, who is still trying to find ‘balance’ in a world who says success is defined by those who attain it!

I started thinking, I’m a sham. A fake. What the heck could I offer these women about success when I was still working on it myself? (Yep, even supposedly ‘successful women’ have self-doubts!)

I called my husband. “I really can’t believe that I’m doing this…I feel so scattered, tired, we haven’t gone on holidays in 5 years…”

I hung up, pulled over on the side of the road, took a few deep breaths, and then it all came to me….

So when I was asked (it was inevitable) at the symposium what my definition of success was, I had my answer:

“Many people think of success as financial freedom, lots of holidays, a great career. And all that stuff is great. But success for me, and for all the women I teach and mentor in my training programs, is just the simple act of acting on it every day. We falter, and get up again. And that’s a successful woman: the one who always gets up, despite the odds.

We don’t strive for perfection, or a single goal necessarily, we strive for excellence, and when we falter, when we’re tired, dragged out, feelign lifeless and lost, we know other women feel the same, and we know we are in a community of like women, and in that community are story after story of women all struggling to do the same.

To me, that’s what a successful woman is: not someone who lives the perfect life, but one who strives to live a bettr life, and who gets knocked down but grows in strength every time she pulls herself up. It’s about reclaiming our power, and knowing it’s there, even when we doubt it.”

Many thanks to all the amazing women at Raymond James, Victoria who put on this great event to support and inspire women in our community. And many thanks to all the women who showed up (and a few token men!), and who are all a piece of this wonderful female community fabric called Victoria!

And many thanks to all the women I spoke with after the show: know your worth, know your power is within, and know that even if you feel powerless (at this time), it is sitting there, waiting for you to reach down and access it. It never leaves you. Promise. You will shine again….!

karen