Happy BOOK Birthday

March 7, 2015

March 10, 2015

I’ve waited a long time for this single day.

From the moment I was first published at 11 years old for an honorable mention about an injured bird, to the day I won second for a poem about changing the world titled, “One Day”, in 8th grade, I knew, I wanted to be a published author. I would write short stories, create small screenplays (that I acted with my siblings) and even send queries out to literary agents in my teens. Writing was cathartic for me when I battled bullying, depression, break ups, success, joy and sadness. I was amazed how our thoughts, could turn into words, and reveal a message that can be transmitted to other people. Such an incredibly simple process that truly represents a form of Power.

After all, manifesting any thought into an actual a thing – a word – that can be spread and shared, can change your life and influence the lives of others. So, as I sit here on my flight to NYC, and preparing for a segment on the Today show, I find it reflective to look back at the three words that changed my life, “What’s Your Excuse?”

When the world first read it, it wasn’t the first time I combated it. I sought excuses when I wasn’t a trained athlete but sought a healthier physique. I sought excuses when I battled disordered eating and told myself that skinny models, fit athletes and social media celebrities made me hate myself. I sought excuses when I was exhausted with child-rearing, working long hours and operating a household. Like everyone else, I told myself a story each morning and I sought evidence in my daily life that validated my thoughts (and choices).

Some days I would wake up as the Victim, someone who’s boss treated her unfairly, who’s ex-boyfriend made her eat chocolate, or who’s genetics made it difficult to lose her thunder thighs (me and my thighs are friends now, btw). Some days I was Superwoman, a ‘yes woman’ who could stressfully do it all and couldn’t say no to anyone. There were even some days when I was the Savior, someone who sought people to care for and help – in spite of my own needs.

It wasn’t until I started telling myself a new story – when I looked at my excuses and saw them as challenges in my path, created to make me stronger, when I began to own my past and therefore guide my future. When I became my own Hero, I began the process of saving myself. I saved the little girl who cried often, scared of her mother dying. I saved the timid teenager who was bullied by mean girls in high school. I save the young woman kneeling beside the toilet bowl, with blood shot eyes and shame in her heart. I saved the mother who thought her career and body confidence ended the moment she had kids.

I saved myself.

The No More Excuses Diet book isn’t (just) about fitness and nutrition; it’s the map in this new journey to becoming your own Hero. The first step is to write it down and set a big goal – whether it’s to lose 100lbs, become a fitness role model or write your own book one day. Unfortunately, the irony in identifying your goals is becoming conscious of your excuses. The moment I start a diet, I see the foods I ‘can’t eat. The moment I start saving money, I notice reckless spending elsewhere. The moment I gain more followers, I also gain a critical opposition. You cannot have one effort, without the other. Life and Death, Love and Hate, Success and Failure – are all pieces of the same pie. When you strive for a greater outcome, you become conscious about how your world operates more completely.

So this is it…a manifested destiny that began when I first wrote, illustrated and sold my first book for 0.75 in 3rd grade. The beauty of passion, conviction and truth, is that you do it because you love it – you write it because it’s in your heart – you live it because you know it, and these truths remain truths as long as you are not attached to the outcome.

I hope you love it.

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