SETTING YOUR EXPECTATIONS

As I see it. . .

Set your expectations high and exceed them Go beyond where you have been and stretch your boundaries to new and uncharted territory that will lead you to success and prosperity.

Use your past as a launching pad to the stars, which raises your bar and places you with the eagles soaring above the clouds to unlimited opportunity.

Setting high expectations escalates our thinking to a new and higher level and our attitude will be enlightened with the visions of new possibilities.

Your expectations are the view of your future as you see it.

The heights of your expectations are a leading indicator for your future aim high. Leave the past behind you, look into the future with high expectation and focus your thinking and energy on achieving your expectations and challenge yourself to exceed your expectations. - Mark Sanborn, Leadership Specialist

I hope each of you wake up each day with a purpose to achieve your goals. Set those expectations a bit higher then what you originally set for yourself. I want each of you to succeed from the bottom of my heart and reach for the stars! So take a leap of faith in yourself!

See you each day on our 30-Day Challenge page on Facebook.

Still running...

Today I took a day off after yesterdays trail run up along Wildwood Trail.

This week kicks off my training for my second 50k. I'm definitely feeling stronger and am excited to see how I feel in the coming 8-10 weeks. I'm definitely going to keep my focus on diet and continue eating lots of extra fruits and protein. My legs are definitely getting stronger. I'm starting to see them take on a new shape as well. That's kinda cool.

In 6 days I'm heading to the Outdoor Retailer show in Salt Lake City. It'll be great to run at that higher altitude of about 4400 ft. Always good for a cardio buster. The show is one of my favorites if you enjoy seeing all the new stuff from Columbia, North Face, Swiftwick Socks, Patagonia, Exoffico, Horny Toad, KEEN, Vibram and others. I love getting great deals on some basics while also getting the additional freebies from friends. Socks are some of my favorite give-a-ways.

I really hope to come home with a pair of Vibram Five Fingers to start running in and help strengthen my stride and ligaments. That's the one item I really want to check out.

I feel so lucky to be working in such cool industries, live in Portland and have such wonderful support from friends, my partner and family. I am a lucky girl!

CHALLENGE

Happy Saturday!
This morning I am challenging myself by teaching a seminar this morning for AmericasMart University! I love the idea of sharing what I know and I have so much fun teaching. This is my personal challenge! I want to do more of this. It just feels right while up there helping others achieve success personally and if that translates into more revenue in their stores - then I have met my goal one seminar at a time.

Today I am challenging you and all of my 30-Day Challengers to embrace a 5K whether or not you have done one before! I challenge you to pick a 5K that inspires you/is for a good cause that you believe in and is in Oct or early Nov. That will give each of us plenty of time to train - kick it up a gear - and beat your last time. This is a great short term goal! The link below are some great training basics to help you kick butt!

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-244-259-13534-0,00.html

I hope everyone has a great Saturday!

Hugs & High Fives!
Michele

Nike Chokblock

This is so cool! I wrote a message of inspiration to the Nike Chalkbot and it actually got written on the streets of the Tour de France today. What will you say? http://www.facebook.com/livestrong

Hope you are enjoying the Tour and let's continue the fight to cure Cancer once and for all!

~ Michele

Are you tired?

Happy Hump Day!! I hope everyone is getting enough rest, drinking enough fluids and finding some balance within each day. I'm at the start of my travel as you all know by now and I found this great article on pushing through the tiredness of life. I went to bed a little later than usual last night as I had dinner with my Mom and some old friends and waking up this morning to go for a run seemed daunting. Of course my internal alarm wakes me up about 45 minutes before my alarm and I gulped down about 8 oz of water and headed out for a great 5.8 mile run full of hills and now sitting here showered I feel accomplished and refreshed. May you find that inner strength on those days that are harder than usual. Go out and as Nike says, "JUST DO IT!" http://fitness.families.com/blog/too-tired-to-exercise Hugs & High Fives! Michele

On the road again...

GOOD MORNING!!

This morning I am at the airport writing this and heading down to LA today. It's the first day of the LA Gift Show and I'm looking forward to seeing our LA Showroom and working with my reps. I'm also looking forward to running around my childhood neighborhood (Sherman Oaks) and then heading out to Atlanta for another Gift Show where I am speaking and working our Stewart Stand booth. to hopefully catch a run with Jess. (30-Day team member) at the very least have tracked a few routes to get in my weekly sweat on!

This morning while enjoying the free Wifi - I came across this fun blog of a first time Marathoner writing about his journey... This link will take you to his vacation and what he did to move each day... I think you will be able to relate and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did.

http://marathonvirgin.runnersworld.com/2010/07/12/week-3-working-out-on-vacation/

Make it a great day!

Hugs & H5's!
Michele

building momentum...

We are a 1/3 of the way through this month and boy is it going by fast! How are all of you doing? Today as I was on my long trail run and while out there, I thought of you, the Tour de France riders and for a moment it made me take a personal inventory of my current efforts. At that moment I decided to push harder and boy was the reward sweet. I ran up hills I had hiked/walked previously and focused on the downhills for my recovery. I checked my HR monitor (highly recommend for those who train alone) to keep a close count of my BPM. (beats per minute) My efforts paid off and I felt great as I sprinted the final 1/4 mile... The morning was beautiful and the trails felt great!

More importantly I was proud of my success - and look forward to my next run, my next challenge. I hope each of you continue to take inventory on your efforts whether you are at work, walking, running, walking or at the gym. Just go out today and give it your best! What do you have to lose? Have a great day! Hugs & H5's! Michele

Well I am off to a great start this month with our 30-Day Challenge! I have already lost 3lbs (woo hoo) and am really excited to see how far I can push myself this month. I signed up recently for a fun race and another 50k. If you haven't heard of the Warrior Dash - you should definitely check out their website.

It's a mix between a 5k and an urban race. I signed up with other friends and it should just be a mud fest of laughter! I am finding that it's important to mix training with fun. Just as mixing business with personal time.

I'm heading out to Los Angeles and Atlanta next week and looking forward to running in both cities. Both for completely different reasons and seasons. LA should be dry and warm, where ATL will be hot and humid. Running across the country this Summer will be good for training.

I can tell you that the way I'm feeling now - is awesome! A few days ago when I was on a trail run, my legs felt really strong and my cardio is getting better and better. I've been riding on my off days in slow gears to really use my quads and hams. I think it's helping my overall running and I'm happy for that. I still run an 8-10 miler a week to keep my progression rolling forward and this weekend I have an 11-miler on the books. I'm looking forward to it.

With the 30-day challenge , Livestrong.com, my 50k, upcoming travel schedule - I am one busy sales girl!