Business

Streak With Me: Writing

June 19, 2018 by Kirsten Leave a Comment

Every month for the past 3 years I have been doing a “streak”. A streak is a daily activity I do for a certain amount of days to move me toward a healthy habit or something I want in my life. Last year I started invited others to join me. I wanted to introduce them to this “baby steps” approach to life that has worked so well for me.

So each month I make a facebook event and invite all my social media peeps to join me in streaking!

The great thing about this challenge is that each individual gets to decide what he/she wants to streak. It can be something in the fitness or nutritional world (like run a mile or drink a gallon of water) or it can be something completely unrelated (like flossing or telling your kids how much you love them).

I have done several different streaks involving all areas of my life.

This month I am doing a writing streak. I have tried this streak several times over the past couple years, and the longest I have gone is 6 days. The week days are very easy for me to schedule things in, but my weekend plans are all over the place and I typically just forget to continue the streak since it’s not quite a habit for me yet.

This time around I decided to shorten my minimum. The first time I attempted this streak, I chose a minimum of 30 minutes. The second time, I tried for 15 minute minimum. The next, 10. This time (after several fails) I decided to go for something there is NO excuse for not completing…5 minutes of writing a day!

Some people would say “what’s the point of writing 5 minutes a day?” It all adds up, baby steps, building good habits, doing small easy tasks each and every day to move toward a bigger goal and ultimately to the life of your dream. That’s the point!

I’m on day 4. So far so good! Got through the first weekend of the month. Today’s streak was writing this post about my writing streak! #multitasking

I lead a “streaking” challenge every month. It’s more fun to streak with friends! What would you streak? What could you change in your daily routine that will make a huge difference in your life over time?

Join our next streaking challenge! Send me your email address…
https://www.facebook.com/KirstenMcCaySmith

Stay connected!
http://www.FoodFitnessFinanceFun.com/newsletter

STREAK ON!
See you soon!

Filed Under: Business Tagged With: streaking, writing

Time Management For Dummies

January 3, 2018 by Kirsten Leave a Comment

If you are like me, you have a hard time getting everything you want done in a day, week, month, year! In fact, it’s not even a “hard time” it’s more like IMPOSSIBLE!

I get frustrated because there is so much I want to do in my lifetime, and try as I might, I can’t seem to find a way to add hours to my 24 hour day. And unfortunately for me, my body needs tons of sleep to function properly, so giving up sleep to get more done is counter-productive for me. Boo!

Since I can’t find extra hours, I have learned a way to make the most of the time I do have, and I have developed a simple monthly process I use to fit in as much as I possibly can. Like anything, it takes practice to get this down, but after a couple months, this will be a quick, easy, painless, and mega beneficial process to help you make the most of the time you have.

Here’s what to do…

Make a list all the goals or things you want to accomplish for the following month
For each goal, list all the activities it will take to reach that goal
Schedule first all the time sensitive activities into your calendar
Schedule second all the highest priority activities into your calendar
Fill in the remainder of your calendar with the other activities
If you have way too many activities and not enough time, go back to your goals and rank them on importance
Repeat until you can schedule all your activities into your calendar

If you still can’t fit everything in, you need to make some decisions about what is most important to you.

Unfortunately we all only have so much time and typically have way more things we want to add into our lives. Is there something you can take out that you don’t love? That isn’t serving you anymore?

PRACTICE! Like anything this takes practice! It may be months before you can actually get everything you want into your schedule!

Be patient and forgiving. You WILL mess up! It WILL be frustrating! It’s OK! Stick with the process and the results will come!

This is a great time of year to start working on this to make it a habit. I love when we have a new month AND a new year to start working toward creating our life instead of letting our life just “happen”.

Please reach out if you want help with this process. I have helped hundreds of people with this over the years.
We are all in this together! It’s not easy, but it’s worth it! email me!

See you soon!

Filed Under: Business Tagged With: goal setting, time management

My Newest New Biz … Purium

November 7, 2017 by Kirsten Leave a Comment

So today I started a new business. For those of you who have known me over the past 20 years, this comes as no surprise at all. I am constantly starting a new business or creating new business or making up something that I’m going to do for work that will fit in with my current lifestyle.

I’m sure some people think of this as indecisive, flighty, impulsive, or crazy, but I think of it as my interests are always changing my focus is ever-evolving, and I’m constantly fine-tuning my life and discovering what I want to be when I grow up.

I used to be embarrassed when I started a new business. I would take a few days (or weeks) before I would share it with my friends and family. I would try to figure out the right words to say or make a point not to say it’s a new business, but maybe more like a hobby or something I’m going to help promote or something I’m getting into.

Not anymore!

I’m proud of my decisions, ALL of them!

I’m proud of all the new adventures I decide to pursue.

Starting businesses and coming up with new ideas as a lifestyle entrepreneur has become a part of who I am as a person. I’m at the point in my life, where if somebody doesn’t support me in any decision I make, I really don’t need them in my life. So I’m not afraid to share when I make changes in my life, because I know the people who truly love me trust that I have a reason for doing what I do.

Now I will admit that the majority of my ideas never really come to fruition, and the majority of the businesses I start I quit or they fail, but to me that doesn’t matter. To me what matters is that I’m constantly learning about myself and what I want so that I can live my passions and move toward my ideal life every single day.

My definition of success is waking up every single morning with the choice of what I want to do. My idea of success is to get to choose. I’m constantly looking for new ways to help make that happen.

Over the past two years I’ve become increasingly passionate about being a plant-based athlete and living a truly vegan lifestyle.

The company that I just became a rep for is also passionate about health and wellness, the majority of their products are vegan and gluten-free, and are high quality products that I am already using in my life.
The company is called Purium and it’s a nutritional company. Their vision is in line with mine:

Our vision is to heal the world.
It starts with cleaning up our food system.
It includes expanding financial opportunity through the free enterprise system.
And it’s grounded in a community of caring people who set out to make a difference every day.

AWESOME RIGHT???!!!

The one product that I’ve been using for the past couple months is a product called “Can’t Beet This”. It is a beet powder with added herbs and superfoods. I’ve been mixing it with my Beachbody Performance Energize electrolyte powder and it’s what I’ve been racing and training with over the last two months.

I just got finished with one of the biggest and best races of my life at the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii. I’m looking forward to next season to see what I can do as I fine-tune my diet, supplements, and wellness, all of which I’ve been working on over the last 10 years. I’m learning more about myself, more about what my body wants and needs, and I’m really excited to see how to incorporate these products into my racing, training, and my overall health.

If you want to check out any of these products, you can find them at https://ishoppurium.com. Use my code “vegandivakir” to order anything. If you end up ordering at least $75 in product, with the same code, you will instantly get $50 off your order. #promo

Reach out with any questions you have! I just ordered probiotics, chlorella, spirulina, tart cherry, aloe vera, and of course more beet powder!

So for those of you think I’m crazy, I may be, but I love myself so it’s no biggie!!

But for those of you think I’m adventurous, or brave, or passionate, THANK YOU!!!! It’s not always easy to start something new. It’s not easy to go outside your comfort zone and put yourself out there to be judged or criticized. One of my words for 2017 is BRAVERY, so I’m being brave!

And for those of you who want to start something new but are afraid, be brave, just do it, and own your decision. Don’t ever let anyone make you feel bad about doing something you truly believe in.

If you want to start this new adventure with me, message, email, or text me. And we’ll figure this whole thing out together.

Thanks for being part of my life.

See you soon!

Filed Under: Business Tagged With: business, business inspiration, purium

Haters Gonna Hate

October 24, 2017 by Kirsten Leave a Comment

“People will love you. People will hate you. And none of it will have anything to do with you.”
– Abraham Hicks

This is one of my fave quotes. I didn’t used to believe it, I’m so glad I do now!

Today I got three “hate” emails from people I don’t know regarding my “GoFundMe” campaign I set up to help me get to Kona, HI for the Ironman World Championships.

I was surprised at first when I read the emails because I didn’t know women my age actually took the time and energy to write hate mail, but then again, I don’t know exactly how old they are, I have no idea who these 3 women (girls?) are.

My first response was to email them back and defend all the things they were saying (how selfish I was begging for money to go to Kona for a second time, that there are people out there who are really struggling, and what a horrible person I was for giving up my relationship for a triathlon, etc, etc, etc), but then I thought about how I really felt about what they were saying to me and instead of defending myself, I wanted to hug them and tell them everything will be ok for them in the end.

Years ago, I would have reacted the same exact way after reading my story on GoFundMe (www.gofundme.com/kirtokona). I used to get so mad at people with big houses (why do they need such a big house), skinny women (why don’t they eat more), fat women (why don’t they eat less), stay-at-home moms (get a job), people who called in sick to work (suck it up), people who made a lot of money (pay more taxes), people who didn’t make any money (get a job), and so on and so on and so on!

Basically, since I was unhappy with myself and my life, everyone else’s life annoyed me.

So today I sent hope to these women that they too would soon love themselves more, I deleted the emails, and I gave myself props for coming so far in my own life.

One of the books that helped me the most in the area of “not taking things personally” is the Four Agreements by Miguel Ruiz. #promo

This is one of my all-time favorite books for personal growth and I have read it several times. In fact, I make a point to listen to the audio on one road trip a year! Just as a reminder.

In the book, he goes into detail about why we shouldn’t take anything personally. The 3 main things he discusses are…

If we are hurt by what people say about us, there is a part of us that believes it is true (truth)
The things people judge us for have more to do with them than with us (see my examples above from the “old” me)

We can only be the best version of ourselves and do the best we can with what we know and where we are at in our lives. We can control what we do, say, have, etc, but not how other people feel, react, etc to us. If I am truly living the best version of me, nothing anyone can do or say to change that, especially when they don’t know me.

And the fourth thing I would add to this list that has helped me the most is to love myself more! Always always love myself more. The more I love myself, the less I care about what people think of me. Loving myself is the greatest gift I have ever given to myself.

Try it!

Join our community FULL of love…
www.Facebook.com/FoodFitnessFinanceFun

And if you want to donate to my campaign, here is the link…
www.GoFundMe.com/KirToKona

I love you!
See you soon!

Filed Under: Business Tagged With: self help, self love

What is a Lifestyle Entrepreneur?

September 5, 2017 by Kirsten Leave a Comment

I am on social media a LOT! Partly because I love to connect and build relationships with people from all over the place and partly because I love to share my own experiences with the hope of inspiring or motivating someone else at the same time.

I am passionate about 3 things: being a triathlete, being a vegan, and constantly striving to become a better version of myself. People who follow me on social media are WELL aware of my passions, but it’s come to my attention that most people think I don’t work, that my lifestyle is magically funded by a sugar daddy possibly? Geez I wish!

When I qualified for the Ironman World Championships in June, I had several people message, email, or say to me, something like this: Congrats! I wish I didn’t have to work so I could train more and be as good as you.

When I let people know I do work, they ask what I do, and that’s where it gets a little interesting. I don’t have a “job” like most people so I do have more freedom for my training, racing, traveling, etc, but I do have to make a lot of choices so that I can live my ideal life AND support it financially. I call this a “lifestyle entrepreneur”.

I first heard this term from Lewis Howes who I “met” through his podcast “The School of Greatness” (check it out btw…it’s worth listening to every episode). He considers himself a lifestyle entrepreneur and defines it as this:

An individual that creates a business with the purpose of altering their personal lifestyle and not for the sole purpose of making profits. A lifestyle entrepreneur focuses more on the life rewards provided to people that enjoy and have a passion for what they are doing. There is a possibility that the business will do particularity well since the individual has a passion for what he/she is doing.

I sum it up as basically doing whatever it takes for me to continue living my passions and my life the way I want to.

So when people ask what I do for work, I tell them I am a lifestyle entrepreneur.

I have several businesses. I am a Beachbody Coach, a triathlon coach, a plant-based nutritionist, a swim coach for middle school, a swim coach for a club team, a private swim instructor, a Pure Romance consultant, a fitness instructor, a personal trainer, an affiliate for several companies, and I am not above running random errands or helping with projects, etc for a few extra dollars to help support my lifestyle as an athlete. In fact, for the next 3 weeks I am house sitting for a friend to make money to pay my rent next month!

I have chosen to live simply (renting a room, driving an old car, keeping my possessions to a minimum, making easy meals, etc) in order to keep my expenses and overwhelm down, and incorporate my training into my businesses/work by biking on my trainer 6 times a week, running on the treadmill 5 times a week, adding my drills, mobility, strength, and recovery into the classes I teach, etc.

I choose lower cost races or ones I can get paid for by sponsors, friends, family, etc, and I often sleep in my car the night before a race instead of a hotel to cut expenses. I trade a lot of the products or services I sell for services I need like massage, chiropractic, dog sitting, etc.

It’s not always as simple or easy as I would want it to be, but it’s always worth it in the end. I get to train (almost) as much as I want and work enough to pay for the life I have created for myself.

This has taken years to get to this point, but I finally feel like I am making it work.

I had a friend ask me if I was scared living like this, with no security, plan, future, etc. And I said yes.

Then I asked him if he was scared living like he lives (working long hours, traveling weekly, saving for his future, giving up what he wants now so that in 10 years he can retire and live his ideal life). He said yes.

We are all scared, we are all doing our best, we are all living the way we think we should be living in the moment. One isn’t better or worse than the other. We are all in this together. We are all just walking each other home.

Let’s connect…

www.facebook.com/FoodFitnessFinanceFun
www.instagram.com/VeganDivaKir
www.FoodFitnessFinanceFun.com/Newsletter

And live your life like it’s YOUR life!!

See you SOON!

Filed Under: Business Tagged With: beachbody, business, lifestyle entrepreneur

Self Help Homework: Just Say No

March 28, 2017 by Kirsten 1 Comment

One of the things I hear all the time is “I don’t have time”. Time is an interesting concept. We all have time. We all have the same amount of time. And we all get to choose how we spend our time.

I have had times in my life where I had a lot more going on than I do, but managed to get more done because I was managing my time better. I know women with no job and no kids who can’t find 30 minutes a day to work out and I know women with several kids, a full time job, head of everything, involved in book clubs and church and team mom, and can still find the time to relax and watch an hour or more of TV every night. We all have the same 24 hours in a day and the great thing is that we get to choose how we spend it.

I work with athletes in my coaching business with all different lifestyles. From the college girl who is taking 18 credits and working full time to the single guy who works part time to the mom with 4 kids under 7, but really wants to complete an ironman.

I also work with men and women who want to build their own business and become an entrepreneur either full or part time.

And I have worked with my friends and family members, all with different lifestyles, on time management so that they can live their best lives, follow their dreams, or complete a big goal.

Basically what I am saying is that I have seen ALL scenarios and situations of figuring out time management and how to fit everything we want to do, be, and have into our short, short, too short 24 hour days.

I have read books and devoured programs on time management. I have tried so many different strategies and processes to fit it all in, but there is only one way that I have found (and helped others find) to have enough time to get in what is truly important to me (and them)…

JUST SAY NO!

You MUST say no to the things that don’t bring you joy. You must say no to the things that aren’t moving you in the direction you want your life to go. You must say no to the things you feel you “should” do, but don’t really “want” to do.

I know this is easier said than done, especially when it comes to your family and friends. You don’t want to hurt feelings, you don’t want to let anyone down, and you want people to like you and appreciate all you do for them.

But the more you do for others, the less you do for yourself. Every time you say YES to someone you don’t want to say yes to, you are saying NO to yourself. You may want to read that again. When you say YES to others, you are saying NO to yourself.

You are the only person you will be with from the day you are born until the day you die. You need to start saying yes to YOU! Yes to your dreams, your goals, you needs, your wants, and everything else you know you want in your life. It’s not selfish, it’s honorable. You are honoring yourself. And when you honor yourself you are teaching others to honor themselves. You are giving others permission to make themselves a priority.

This is NOT easy! But it’s imperative! So here is your homework…

START SMALL!!! Start with something that is easy. Something you don’t want to do and isn’t a big deal if you don’t do it.

Next time someone asks you for something you don’t want to do, just say NO! You can do it as politely as you wish. You can make any excuse you want. But just so you know you never need an excuse to say no to someone or something, but at the beginning feel free to make up an excuse to make it easier for you until saying no becomes easier for you.

I let my clients use me as their excuse. When they have a workout planned and someone asks for their time when they are scheduled to work out, I tell them to use me as an excuse. They can say “I can’t have lunch with you because I am meeting my trainer for a workout” or “I can’t talk right now because I have a call scheduled with my coach”.

Feel free to use me as your excuse for as long as you need/want to. Once you realize your true friends will respect you, your time, and your choices, you won’t need to make an excuse, you can just say no. That will free you up to say yes to the things you really want to say yes to. And then when you DO say yes to your friends, they will know how important they are and that you really WANT to be with them instead of feel like you HAVE to be with them!

Remember…baby steps! Start small. Work your way up to the big NOs like to your kids or your spouse or you mother-in-law.

Practice makes perfect!

Share your success with me.

I am very passionate about this topic. I have been working on it for years. I’m not an expert, but I’m pretty darn close.

Reach out if you want more help.

And join our community of positively selfish happy humans…

www.facebook.com/FoodFitnessFinanceFun

Let’s stay connected…

www.FoodFitnessFinanceFunc.om/Newsletter

Can’t wait to hear how much time you make in your life for you!

See you soon!

Filed Under: Business Tagged With: self help, time management

My Dream Job

February 28, 2017 by Kirsten Leave a Comment

One of the exercises I do with the coaches on my Beachbody team is to help them come up with their dream job. This would be the job you would have if you could do anything but still had to have a job.

This is hard for most people at first because we aren’t taught to “think outside the box” or “dream big” so we typically think of jobs we have had or believe we can have.

These don’t usually work as our dream job because (unless you already have your dream job) if you have had it or believe you can have it, you would probably already have it!!

I ask a few questions like “if money weren’t an issue, what would you do all day” or “do you know anyone who has your dream job” or “what are your favorite things to do” and these help prompt some answers. But usually most people still struggle with coming up with something until I share mine.

My dream job is to get paid to do what I would be doing each day anyway. This includes sleeping, training, racing, helping others build a business, writing out training plans, writing out meal plans, writing blog posts, listening to podcasts, making healthy foods, and helping people online, through social media, and through text reach their health, fitness, nutrition, career, life, happiness, and relationship goals.

All the things I just listed are things I would do each and every day whether I got paid to do them or not. As it turns out, I get paid to do about half of those things! Lucky me right? Nope, not luck! I have been working on the exercise of creating my dream job for about 10 years now, baby steps, and over time my life is looking more and more like I want it to look. Of course there are still things I would change, but I’m working each and every day to change the jobs I don’t want into jobs I do want. And it all started with KNOWING what my dream job is.

The whole reason I was thinking about this today is because of something that happened this past weekend. I ask for sponsorships for races so I can race more. A business or person will pay my race entry fee, and in return I will promote their business or cause in my newsletter, on my social media, and to my network. This is an example of my dream job. I am getting paid to race. For the payment, I do what I would normally do anyway!

I got a message from someone on Facebook wanting to sponsor me for an upcoming race. When I asked what she wanted me to promote, she said “Nothing, I just want to thank you for the help you have given me with my fitness and nutrition.” WHAT? How AWESOME is that??? THIS is my dream job. To do what I was doing anyway (sharing and helping on social media) and get paid for it (in the form of a race entry, which I would have paid for anyway)!! #dreamjob

Take some time today to think about your dream job. If you don’t know where to start, answer the 3 questions I asked earlier. Write down your answers. Make a list of all the things you do each day that you love doing. Start to open your mind to ALL possibilities, not just what you were programed to believe about what a job should look like. Visualize yourself DOING your dream job every single day. And then take action DAILY (even super small actions count…remember baby steps are still steps) in the direction you want to go.

I would love to hear what YOUR dream job is! Comment here or share with our community at…

www.Facebook.com/FoodFitnessFinanceFun

Stay in touch…

www.FoodFitnessFinanceFun.com/Newsletter

See you soon!

Filed Under: Business, Fitness Tagged With: business, fitness

My New Etsy Store – Fitness Diva Kir

December 6, 2016 by Kirsten Leave a Comment

When my friend (and marketing coach), Tara, told me to get an Etsy store, I hesitated. Not because I don’t trust her, but because I don’t make jewelry, sell clothing, or even like crafty crafting at all.

I know friends (including her) who sell on Etsy their DIY and homemade artsy stuff. That is great for them, but it’s SO not me!

Whenever I told her about a new nutrition or client I met with or about a training plan I wrote for a triathlete, she would tell me I needed to put some simple training and nutrition plans in an Etsy store.

I was hesitant because I feel like everyone is SO different, that it wouldn’t be beneficial to write out a general program for someone to follow. For nutrition and triathlon, everyone has a different schedule, goals, lifestyles, time commitments, budgets, tastes, etc, so how could one program benefit more than the one person it was designed for.

She understood my reasoning but brought up apps like “Couch to 5K” which has been used by thousands of people who successfully completed their first 5K. This was appealing to me because I would love to help thousands of people reach their goals!

But I wasn’t ready and we shelved it…until the next time she brought it up and I resisted again. If you have read any of my other stories about Tara, you will begin to see a pattern here!

But eventually, like most of Tara’s ideas, I caved and gave it a shot. I wrote out a beginner triathlon 12 week training plan that can be done in less than 4 hours a week. And although everyone’s lives are different, unless you have extenuating circumstances, this program will work for ANY beginner triathlete looking to do his/her first sprint triathlon.

I even did a test run with 10 new athletes this past summer with 100% success!!

Check it out here…

https://www.etsy.com/shop/FitnessDivaKir

I would love feedback if something is unclear or confusing!

And PS…ANYONE can do a sprint triathlon! If you don’t believe me, read this article…Why The Birthday Present I Gave My Mom On Her 50th Made Her Cry

Reach out if you want help finding the right race for you!!!

See you soon!

Filed Under: Business Tagged With: ecommerce, etsy store, finances

That Was Then, This is Now

June 14, 2016 by Kirsten Leave a Comment

Almost 2 years ago, my friend and marketing coach “convinced” me to start a blog. We had talked about it for about 2 years before I was even OPEN to the idea, but once I started, I never looked back and it became my favorite part of my daily “work”.

The only times I have ever NOT written between 1-3 articles a week, is when I felt like I couldn’t take the time to write because I needed to make money by working on my “real” businesses instead of my “wanna-be” business…my blog! But every time I took a break, I missed it immensely, and I would keep going back to “how can I make money writing blog posts?”

I am still nowhere near that result, but I decided after talking to my mom the other day about how I am in the “2nd phase of my life” which means I need to start doing more of what I want and less of what I don’t want, that I would take the time to write daily, no matter the result of what my writing brings.

The first thing I did this morning was visit what I wrote 2 years ago when I was starting my blog and had to come up with an “about me” page. This is what I found…

That Was Then

You will never find happiness if you do not conquer your own doubt.

I want to start a blog about Fitness, Food, Finances, and Fun in your 40s and Beyond.

Here is my ABOUT

I am very excited for my 40s, so far since I turned 40 in 2012, my life has been amazing. I feel like FINALLY after years and years and years (approximately 39 of them…maybe 36 as I believe up until now, the first 4 years of my life were my best) I am discovering WHO I am, WHAT I want, and HOW to get it. The areas of my life I am most passionate about are fitness, food, finances, and fun, so those are the topics I want to use to connect with like-minded people who are searching to enhance their own lives in those specific areas.

I believe I am qualified to talk about all four of those topics because I am consistently learning and improving in those areas in my own life. Am I an expert? Probably not. Am I getting better and better as I learn from my past mistakes and experiences? ABSOLUTELY!! And if I am getting better as time goes by, I see expert status in my future. Until then, let’s go on this journey together!!

FITNESS: My fitness background is quite extensive. From becoming a competitive athlete at a very young age, to joining my first gym when I was 12, to going to college for exercise science, to working in a gym for 17 years, coaching sports, becoming addicted to triathlon, and ending up as a health/fitness coach. So basically my whole life has been centered around exercise, sports, fitness, and movement…

OK…so maybe I AM an expert in this one!!

FOOD: This has been my most painful, yet rewarding journey. I became a vegetarian when I was 8 years old…I didn’t want to eat animals anymore. I became obsessed with my weight when I was 12…I wanted to be tiny like my “little” friends in Jr High, not like my 5’7” 140 pound “GIANT” body. This took me on a path of calculating the exact amount of food I could or couldn’t eat to maintain my weight. It was a challenge because I was a compulsive and emotional overeater but also already so big I didn’t allow myself to get any bigger. Over the next 30 years I constantly battled with my food choices, food intake, energy/calorie output, and how I could ever possible calm my fear of being fat and make peace in my head. My head and heart also tell me I want to live on 100% plant-based Vegan diet. My body sometimes struggles with the restrictions and the past few years have been (although less intense) a constant battle over loving my body the way it is and desperately wanting it to be something it’s not.

OK…So apparently I am NOT an expert on this one, but I think I have a lot of insight I could offer others in their journey.

FINANCES: OK…so maybe this has been my most painful journey!! Actually not really. I have a super high risk tolerance so although I have made and lost lots of money over my 28 year working career, it’s never been a source of pain for me. Sometimes stress, anxiety, and frustration, but never painful like my disordered eating. I started working at Burger King when I was 14 years old and have always been great at work…not so great at working FOR someone else…so as soon as I realized working for myself was an option, I pretty much went that route. I have no idea how many businesses I have started, but I do love the experience of starting and growing a business. I’m a bit impatient, so I ended many of them because they were taking too long to get up and running. During my working years I have made lots of money, but I have also spent lots of money. I chose a very expensive hobby and have very expensive eating habits. Together those two things probably use up 25% of my income!

But all in all I am great at budgeting and saving for future expenses. I have helped hundreds of people either make more money, spend less money, and save for the things most important to them.

FUN: So here is the category I SUCK at…no seriously!! I mean at OTHER people’s idea of fun. According to my definition of FUN, I am an expert. I believe doing what I choose to do all day every day is fun…super fun! And that is what I do. I have spent years in personal development figuring out what makes me happy and doing more of that in my life. And have helped others do the same. It’s all about small steps…taking ONE step daily toward your ideal life.

And compounded over time, your life will be EXACTLY the way you want it to be! And to me, that is fun!!

MY LIFESTYLE: Currently my life looks like this: I live in an RV with my husband and our dog. We typically stay in one place from 1-6 weeks and then move on. With the exception of Lake Tahoe, CA where we stayed for 3 months so I could train for Ironman Lake Tahoe and Cheyenne, WY where we are staying for 6 months so we finish paying off our debt and save for our month long trip to Kona, HI in October.

I only wake up to an alarm on the mornings I have races. Every morning I have a “Kick Ass Morning” routine that includes meditation, walk w my dog, green tea, supplements, and writing. I then decide how I want to spend the rest of my day which typically includes: training (swim, bike, run, strength, yoga, pilates), working, organizing, planning, eating delicious food, and connecting with awesome people. In the evenings my hubby and I eat dinner, chat, chill online, and then watch a movie every night before bed.

That may not be YOUR perfect life, but it’s mine!

It wasn’t always like that though. I spent years and years waking up at 4am to be at work by 5am (oh and BTW…I am NOT a morning person). I thought I had to. I didn’t know there were any other options. I felt desperate and trapped. I’m so grateful my personal growth journey led me to the life I lead now.

My mission in life now is to help others figure out what is important to them and start toward living that life.

MY BUSINESS: I am the proud owner of TWO network marketing businesses that I can operate from ANYWHERE. I was listening to a podcast one day and heard someone tell the host he was a “Lifestyle Entrepreneur”. I LOVE THAT! It definitely describes me because the main reason I chose the businesses I have, is that I CAN do them anywhere. I chose to earn income in a way that fits with the lifestyle I want to live, not the other way around like most people do. I also gave up the idea of how things are “supposed to be” so I could live the way I feel fits ME the best.

My husband and I have been living on the road for over a year now, and although it did take some practice, I am back to running both businesses, and my life, smoothly and effectively. I am grateful I chose this path and don’t think I could ever go back to my “old” life. The freedoms and choices I get to make every day are priceless. I know many of you feel “stuck” in a life you don’t love…trust me, I GET IT…I was there too! You DO have options. There are so many opportunities in our country to live the way you WANT to live. You just have to take a risk and go for it! And be OK with failing once or twice or more!! It is all part of the journey.

My opportunities may not be the right ones for you, but I do think everyone at some point should take a look at network marketing as an income source. It is one of the cheapest ways I know of to own your own business, and most companies cannot ever fire you, put a cap on your income, or tell you how you can and can’t run your own business. The more you work, the more money you make, and the best part (for me) is that I can do it ANYWHERE! Well…anywhere I can get internet and cell service…which HAS proven to be a challenge on the road!

This Is Now

Reading that makes me smile! I was more of an expert than I thought when I had started, but am 100 times more of an expert now, 2 years later!!

Here is what I would like to ADD to my “About Page”…

FOOD: I have now been 100% vegan and have been for over 18 months. What used to be a struggle is SO easy for me! I swear I never thought I would get to this place. I am constantly working toward more raw and whole foods, and doing better all the time. I am also helping others with transitioning to vegetarian and vegan with challenges, recipes, support groups, newsletters, and meal plans. It is extremely rewarding to see people find what works best for their hearts, bodies, and souls with food.

FITNESS: I now consider myself a professional athlete. I get paid to train, race, and be an athlete! I have also to date helped THOUSANDS of athletes and other awesome peeps reach their own personal health, wellness, nutrition, triathlon, and fitness goals!! I have several books, training plans, support groups, and clients that keep me busy in this category that I am so passionate about.

On a personal training note, I took a year off triathlon and did some fun things like a 10K open water swim, a 16,000 yard pool swim, a treadmill marathon, a track marathon, and 7 marathons in 7 days. Coming back to triathlon this year is incredible. I am in the best shape of my life and racing better than ever!!

FINANCE: We are debt-free other than our house! After working on the Dave Ramsey plan for years and years, we finally got serious (“gazelle intense” he calls it) and paid off ALL our debts other than our house which we should have paid off in less than 7 years!! We have also built up a big savings (emergency fund) and a smaller (but never had before) medical fund! Oh, and we became grown-ups after 20 years and got health insurance!!

FUN: We sold our RV 6 months ago and moved back into our house in Colorado. And I wrote a book about it! FUN! My favorite things to do are train, race, swim, eat yummy vegan food, snuggle with our new (new since I started my blog) dog, Joey, watch movies, be on social media, write, and hang with my hubby. And I am incorporating those things into my life DAILY now! YAY ME!!

My mission is still the same. To help others love themselves more. To inspire others to WANT to be better! I still love personal growth and still listen to podcasts daily! I can’t wait until the day I make massive amounts of money just by being ME!!

Thanks for reading and being a part of my life!

See you soon!

Filed Under: Business Tagged With: entrepreneur, kirsten mckay, kirsten mckay smith

Homework: Do. It. Now!!

April 19, 2016 by Kirsten Leave a Comment

Yesterday my sis in law, Melody, who is also involved with direct sales, asked me if I follow Darren Hardy. I have read several of his books, seen him speak live twice, and subscribe to his daily motivation video I get in a text every single morning. So I said “of course”.

But the truth was, I had been getting his daily text since December 30, 2014 and have watched maybe 3. Seriously? Yes! They are all 1-2 minutes and come directly to me in a text every single morning! And I even believe 100% in personal and business growth AND love Darren Hardy!!

So why didn’t I watch the daily video? Who knows? That’s probably a job for a therapist to figure out. What I do know is that I’m not the only one out there who doesn’t take advantage of simple opportunities to make ourselves better. Most of us know exactly what we need to do to reach our goals but we don’t do them. We procrastinate, we self-sabotage, we ignore, and we go right back to doing what we were doing to get us to where we don’t want to be.

At that moment I realized I had missed 467 chances to better myself, my life, and my situation. I decided to stop whatever silliness was keeping me from watching a 2 minute video and start watching daily. They say to first step is awareness, so thank you Melody for bringing this to my attention!

So yesterday I started watching. I remembered to listen as I was driving to the gym so I just put in my headphones and listened. It was about how “to-do” lists are so damaging. I’m a never finished to-do list junkie who feels like a failure every single day because I don’t get through it so this was great for me to hear and I will definitely write about in a later blog because I think it’s super important.

But today’s is what I wanted to talk about…”DO IT NOW!”

I am a procrastinator, like many of you out there. After the initial excitement and fire of a new project, I lose steam. I put my actions on the back burner and then get frustrated when I don’t hit the big goals I set for myself.

I went to a workshop a few years ago and after the weekend we end up with our big giant vision of what we want our life to look like in 5 years. We were then required to do one thing immediately (no matter how small) toward our long term vision. They say when you act on your goal immediately you are 80% more likely to achieve that long term goal. I don’t know what that all really means, but it sounds like a step in the right direction!

I want to have a blog that affects and inspires others to be better. I wrote one post a week for the first 6 months, and then for the following 9 months I wrote two posts a week. Every week I would get at least one response from someone saying “thank you” or “your post helped me”. This was so rewarding and exactly what I wanted. Over the past 2 months I have lost sight of my long term vision of what I want my life to look like. Thankfully I have several people in my life to remind me.

So this morning’s video reminded me to do one thing NOW to move me toward my big goal. So I dropped everything and wrote this blog post to get me back on track, back in the habit of writing every week.

I challenge you to do the same. If you aren’t sure what your big goals or long term vision is, join our free 7 day video course to help you figure it out (www.ItTotallyMatters.com). Once you do, write it down, come back here, and write down one action (no matter how small or seemingly insignificant) that you can do right now to move toward that big goal, dream, or vision.

Darren Hardy says to do it within 24-48 hours. That part I personally have to disagree with. If I would have put “write a blog post” on my “to-do” list for today or tomorrow, it would have been pushed aside for something more urgent like it has for the past month. So I made time for what is most important and did it now!!!

What are you going to do right now to make your life better? It can be as small and drinking a glass of water, taking your vitamin, putting away the bag of chips your hand is in, take your dog for a walk, send your partner an “I love you” text, order a personal growth book, sign up for Darren Hardy’s daily text, cancel something you’ve been paying for that you don’t need, call your mom, take a deep breath, follow up with a potential biz partner, print out a pic of your dream house, set a date for a garage sale, get a success buddy, delete a game app from your phone, meditate, listen to an inspirational podcast, do 10 push-ups, clip a coupon, toss your sugary mid-afternoon snack, the list goes on and on of things you can do right now.

If you are still stuck on what you can do right now toward your goal, message me and I can help!

Coachsmith@usa.com

Thanks for being here and helping me move toward my ideal life.

Here’s how you can create yours…

www.ItTotallyMatters.com

See you soon…for reals this time!!

Filed Under: Business Tagged With: mindset