Natural Cures Blog Carnival Logo–Artwork Credit: Digital Trash

Jillian Michaels Dishes on Life, Passion, and Getting What You Want

On Saturday, I attended Doreen Rainey’s first ever Get Radical Conference in Crystal City. The big draw was a chance to meet Jillian Michaels, the personal trainer on the reality TV show, The Biggest Loser.

Since this weeks’ blog carnival is focused on exercise, I thought I would share with you some of the key points I got out of Jillian’s talk. Keith and I are faithful followers of Jillian and Bob Harper’s grueling personal training show, where they take walking heart attacks and turn them into fit, trim people with fewer health issues and fewer meds.

Having gone through our own personal weight loss transformation 5 years ago (we lost 50 lbs between us on the South Beach diet), we love to cheer on the contestants and watch them struggle to success. But the chance to hear Jillian speak in person was really amazing. Her intensity on screen is even more so in person.

Doreen Introduces Jillian

Jillian on Health and Wellness

Jillian started out by saying that “your health is the platform for your entire life.” It is what every other success will be built upon.

Apparently 30% of the women in attendance had filled out a pre-conference survey and said they had a goal to improve their health. The survey also revealed that fear was the number one factor holding the women back.

“Well behaved women never make history,” Jillian said. “Isn’t it a shame that setting goals and going for what you want is considered radical? Someday it will be perceived as an obvious good, to pursue your dreams shamelessly.”

She allowed as how she doesn’t change the contestants lives, they do. She gives them permission, they change their own lives. Jillian gave the Get Radical conference attendees, permission, “You have permission, now go kick some A__!”

Jillian on Failure

A woman in the audience, when Jillian asked her, “What are you afraid of?” said, “I am afraid of failing.”

Jillian told her failure is a reality, it is going to happen. “If you are not failing, you are not trying hard enough. Embrace failure as an entry point to success.”

Then she went on to talk about how to learn from failure-“deliberately practice to your weaknesses with immediate feedback.” She described how Tiger Woods will do the same shot over and over again, and have his coaches watching him from different angles, telling him what they see happening. She said you must change your perspective on failure. “Look at your failures as a place to grow. Accept responsibility for your part in failure.”

Jillian on Material Wealth and Business Success

On financial success, Jillian said, “It is ok to want things, just don’t be defined by them.” She also said, at one point in her career, she realized that becoming wealthy involved a “skill set” that some people had, and others didn’t. She set out to learn that skill set, by studying others who were successful in her field.

She told us that we, too, can learn the skill set that produces wealth.

“When you put energy into the world, stay open-release it, wait to see what comes back.”

“Have a proactive focus, put all of your energy on the things you can effect and change, and forget about the rest.”

“The way you think is effecting your behavior. Behave like there is not enough, and you will create lack.”

“Identify what it is that you want. Prepare, educate yourself, learn everything. Figure out why you want it. This allows you to get things that are difficult.”

“Study the people that have succeeded in your chosen field. Find teachers, coaches. Build a support team, surround yourself with rock stars. Your network makes you more valuable.”

Passion is a key ingredient for success

“Ask for help. Pay it forward. Discover your passion.”

Discovering your passion, she explained, is like the game we played as children, “You’re getting warmer, now colder.” Figure out what do you enjoy, what you love. Move toward that and you’re getting warmer.

“Cultivate your passion, don’t shut it down. listen to yourself and your feelings and what they are telling you.”

The most profound remark Jillian made was in response to a question from a woman in the audience, “You are asking yourself the wrong question. Instead of asking yourself, How can I possibly be successful? Ask yourself, How can I not be successful. That is the right question to be asking.”

Jillian’s Four Point Plan for Success

Be educated.

Be passionate.

Be practical.

Do marketing.

Jillian said her business partner, Giancarlo Chersich, (who attended the event with her) had taught her an important business lesson. His philosophy is to “focus on the process, the results will come.”

Jillian On Diet

Be good to yourself, pursue life. Live. Do what you enjoy. Be your number one priority.

“Don’t eat anything that doesn’t come out of the ground or have a mother! Unlike a Cheeto, which is related to the Cheez-it.”

“Use common sense when it comes to eating. Remember, calories in, calories out.”

Jillian talked more about life than exercise. She focused on the mentality rather than the physicality. There is a powerful lesson there as we open up this blog carnival on exercise. Once you make up your mind to it, you will DO it.

That is the way it was for Keith and I. The commitment was made between our ears, then the rest of the body came along. We started out dragging ourselves to the gym 2 days a week, now we love going 5.

For information about personal coach, Doreen Rainey and to get on her list for next years Get Radical conference, visit her website, DoreenRainey.com. Visit Doreen’s blog.

At the conference, I had lunch with a woman who had lost a lot of weight with Jillians’ online weight loss program.  Check it out at JillianMichaels.com.

The Blog Carnival is Now Open for Your Submissions!

Now it is your turn, please share your exercise ideas either as a comment or if you have a blog, by emailing your link to me, kim.hartke at gmail.com!

Our first entry, Jenny Gordon tells how her company started their own “Biggest Winner” weight loss competition!

Our second carnival “ride” is from Charles Welling on Why Doesn’t Exercise  Always Work?

Local Nourishment is next, on Working Up to Working Out.

My husband’s submission is Our Morning Workout Routine.

Cheeseslave has submitted a provocative article on Why Exercise is Overated.

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