The First Step

There are four steps to having everything you want in life. These four steps are items that can be viewed as a checklist: four things you must have in your possession to achieve peace and happiness.

Today, we are going to talk about the first step: a healthy body and a healthy mind.

Eight years ago, I gave birth to my youngest son, Lincoln. When I got pregnant with him, I was the healthiest I had ever been, but the stress and choices I allowed into my life overtook my healthy lifestyle, leading to yearly weight gain.

At the time, I didn’t realize that stress was enabling the situation. The stress and environment I had gotten myself into were not conducive to success on the level I now know I was capable of. The overwhelm prevented the word success from even being in my vocabulary. I just had a goal: to make enough money so that my husband could quit his job.

I tried everything—really, I mean everything. I feel silly even listing all the “diets” and “lifestyles” I tried. I did stumble upon the pescetarian diet seven years ago, and while I stuck with that, I did not eliminate the stress or change my environment.

I was sleeping walking uphill through life while fighting to survive, and I didn’t know this until years later, but I was in extreme denial because I had everything I had ever wanted. This extreme denial because I have everything I want in life will be my Achilles’ heel.

So, let’s start this story in January 2020. Twenty-twenty was going to be my year. I was laser-focused on what I wanted and what I deserved. I had started attending conferences, and each time, I came home with a mission. In late March, Covid hit, which didn’t have a grip on me, but in the transition from March to April, our son was in a car accident, and he passed away.

That one event turned our lives upside down.

We stayed strong, and the people around us supported us. I believe God held us up in those moments and provided us with an overwhelming amount of work and success, which allowed us to refocus our attention.

We started taking trips and learning new ways to cope with a new pain. I turned to books. There are many authors I would like to credit for the dull, but Og Mandino grew to be my favorite. His books were so easy to get lost in, and they were quick reads — allowing me to devour one after another.

Through Og, I began this slow awakening.

But about three months ago, I committed to waking up at the same time each morning, no matter what, and doing a morning routine.

Most important was following the 30–30–30 habit established by Tim Ferriss in his book Four Hour Body. While I do own the book, I have not read it. 30–30–30 was something I stumbled upon while Googling solutions on how to lose weight. (I must note that I did go to the doctor last summer, which led to finding out I was anemic. He initially diagnosed me with a condition, and I started taking medicine for it, but it was a misdiagnosis. But I did make a new commitment to avoid sugar and gluten. The combination of fasting, supplements, and diet change led me to lose 25 pounds.)

I have documented the pivot point in The Next Nine Months (Link), Waking Up at the Same Time Every Day (Link), Alignment (Link), Best Day(s) of My Life (Link), and What We Need To Do and What We Want To Do (Link). But honestly, the last 26 days have been an awakening, with the 23rd being the culmination point, and each lesson learned for 29 days has been documented on these pages.

It took me four years to slowly gain the awareness I currently possess. Each month and year, I acquired more momentum, which was healing, leading to standing up and taking control of my life.

I found myself living a life others curated for me.

That self-awareness, those realizations, that awakening would not have been possible if I hadn’t intentionally tried to gain a healthy body and a healthy mind.

I had been trying to do it independently all these years, but with the help of books and proven methods, I made huge strides that carried me from light to dark. There were people along the way, with flashlights lighting up the path I must take — the right people. People I owe so much to. People I will forever be grateful for.

That self-awareness, those realizations, and that awakening would not have been possible if I hadn’t intentionally prioritized nurturing a healthy body and mind.

I had been trying to go it alone for years, but it was only through the guidance of wise teachings and proven methods that I made the transformational strides that carried me from darkness into light. There were people who appeared along the way — shining lights illuminating the path I needed to take.

Yet this journey back to wholeness began with that first, fundamental step—committing to care for my physical and mental well-being above all else. Only from that foundation of balance could I begin excavating the layers of denial, rebuilding my self-worth, and realigning with my core values and purpose.

If you resonate with any part of my story, let it serve as a call to action. Wherever you are in your life’s journey, prioritize cultivating radiant health in your mind, body, and spirit. From this grounded state of being, we can then create the self-awareness required to blaze our own trail of intention.

As Marcel Proust wrote, “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” Taking steps to care for yourself gives you those “new eyes” — the clarity, focus, and wisdom to see yourself and your highest potential truly.

Or, in the words of Lao Tzu, “He who knows others is wise; he who knows himself is enlightened.” The path to wholeness makes space for the self-knowledge and enlightenment we all crave deep down.

So, I invite you to join me in this commitment to wholeness. I hope that you will awaken self-awareness and create the life you truly want to live.

You hold the power to transform because it starts with a choice that is only yours to make. Walking this path lights the way inward so you can brighten the world around you with your greatness. Your journey begins with this first essential step. Are you ready?

I am sitting here smiling. I hope you are, too.

With love,

Jo

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