I was a fortunate 6 year old whose parents enrolled in a horseback riding camp. This was a pinnacle point in my young life, being at the barn was my sanctuary. Animals I loved and mentors who pushed me to set goals, focus, and improve myself were the cornerstones of who I would become. At 9 years old I aspired to be a veterinarian; however, in college I discovered an innate passion and fascination with animal behaviors and shifted my focus to become a dog trainer. After my college graduation I opened K9 Etiquette, a dog training and dog daycare facility.
In 2013 a chance interaction during a dog playdate exposed me to proper nutrition for myself. As a young adult I had yet to learn the connection between nutrition and my body. This encounter piqued me so much that I tried the superfood shake she was drinking. The improvement to my diet drastically reduced my physical pain. Intrigued, I joined the MLM and set a course to help others feel better. This also launched me into the fitness world.
Our company hosted an annual bodybuilding contest to highlight people’s transformations. I agreed to participate with a friend and discovered that I love being on stage and competing against myself to continue to improve my health and physique. I continued to work hard on my physique and nutrition fueling me to continue competing, ultimately achieving professional athlete status with two national natural bodybuilding organizations. Although competing demands sacrifice, I love being in control of my health.
Additionally, being with this MLM opened the door to mindset training. A path was being set as I learned more about personal development, leadership, communication and resiliency that was fostered by this MLM experience. It was an important reminder to help me wrap back around to my passion for behavior training. I spent hours every day learning as much as I could in order to improve my life as well as my clients and team members.
One day while I was working out, I received a message from my family saying my 5 month old nephew, Rett, was on his way to Boston Children’s Hospital because they thought he may have cancer. Sadly the concern was valid, Rett had a rare and aggressive form of cancer. I knew his chance for survival was slim.
During his 4 month battle I opened my heart to learn as much as I could from him. My mantra became “Control what you can. Let go of what you can’t control.” This mantra and mindset helped me weather the news about his tests, those results, and his prognosis. I visited him as often as I could. I stayed on top of my health, my businesses and I started a GoFundMe to help my sister and brother-in-law. Focusing on what was within my control made it easier to accept what I had zero control over.
My heart broke when he died. After grieving, I was able to look back on what I had experienced and realized some amazing things. Rett taught me the importance of human connection, perspective about what really matters in life and the understanding that you can only control what you can. Rett changed me at my core and he helped me find my authentic self.
Rett also helped change my views on society. The GoFundMe I started was able to raise over $123,000 in donations. The majority of those donations were from strangers who felt compelled to help after reading our story.
It was shortly after Rett’s passing that I realized his life purpose was to teach me the importance of helping people learn all these amazing lessons. His short time on this planet allowed me to truly understand the meaning of my purpose and desire to honor Rett proud by fulfilling my own life purpose of helping others let go of what they can’t control by removing life’s roadblocks thus allowing them to find their purpose and embrace their futures.
I spent five years preparing for the day when I would help others learn the skill sets needed to achieve a permanent mindset shift empowering them to become the confident human they are meant to be. The time has come to embrace your FUTURE.
