3 reasons you must have fun to win

Friday afternoon, the sun was beaming down on the dirt track and green infield. Hooves stomped the ground in anticipation. The crisp March air blew through the nostrils of eager horses, ready to race.

Above the barns, people gathered with family and friends, food, drinks and track schedules in hand. The track was ready. Jockies were assembling their gear and horse owners chatted their predictions with loved ones about the anticipated results. Race day at Fonner Park would start at 3:30 p.m. and the excitement was about to begin.

I attended Fonner Park races three times in 2015. For my first race of 2016, one of my customers sponsored the winning blanket and reserved the executive suite for about 30 customers and friends to join. Not only was this a new experience for me, but my seed advisor Roger had also never experienced the suite. He is a part owner of a few mares with some of his customers, so he has attended many races. This race was one for the books.

Roger's horse would race in the 9th and final race that day. Odds were decent for her to place. But she was not necessarily expected to win. Nonetheless, the rounds went on, beverages and food were flowing and conversation was plentiful. There were still many reasons to have fun and make a win out of the day.

Reason #1

When odds are against you, you must face adversity to have the chance to succeed.

Three steps left going into 11

January 2016 has come and gone. Did anyone else think that went by very quickly? Time is a matter of perception but to me, the month flew by! There are only 11 months left.

When I set my goals for 2016, most were pretty lofty. Today, I took some time to review them and see what kind of progress I have made and what behaviors lead to that success. I also identified what behaviors were counterproductive or slowed my progression. Rather than detail exactly where I stand with each of my goals, I want to help you see what process you can do for your goals.
Here are three key steps I have for making the most of the remaining 11 months in 2016.

Three steps to identify successful behaviors

I am loving my Passion Planner for this year. It really forces me to do more than the usual "I'll just think about my goals" and writing them down. As I flipped through the past few weeks, there was one thing I noticed. When I succeed at a task or priority, I placed a checkmark next to it. There were quite a few left without checkmarks. This drives me crazy. However, this is the first step to identifying successful behaviors.

Most rewarding and most challenging part about bodybuilding

When a person thinks about "bodybuilding", they immediately think of Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Big, buff and bad ass. He is pretty rad. But when I started training for my bodybuilding competition, I wasn't totally certain what to expect. Everyone kept telling me that the training was the easy part. What? OK, I'm in! Well, they were right. There is something much more rewarding and challenging than the workouts.

To excel in any sport, there must be a combination of physical and mental strength. Physical comes from conditioning, practice and performing the techniques your sport or game requires. How do good basketball players become great? They start with fundamentals. If a ball player cannot dribble, how can they possibly get the ball down the court to score a basket?

In bodybuilding, physical strength is a foundation of weight lifting and cardio. Yes, that includes my dreaded cardio. To optimize body condition, bodybuilders find balance of targeting muscle groups and increasing volume and weights over a period of time. To continue tightening the muscle mass developed, incorporate plyometric movements and cardio.

I find this part fun! It is exciting keeping my body on it's "toes" and changing my workout routines and movements over the weeks and seeing my strength increase. The physical strength that I have developed comes with practice and precision in my workouts. However, it cannot be accomplished only through training. The body needs fuel.

To reveal the muscularity and toned physique, appropriate diet must be part of the equation. A meal plan is in place for consistency and prove that science can make regular people look like super heroes! It starts out exciting. But after 17 weeks, food options are restricted and boring. This is where it gets tough.

If there is one thing I have learned about myself through this process, it is that the key to having successful training as a bodybuilder is self discipline.

This mental preparation is also the most challenging and rewarding part of the process. Nowadays, may people (including myself) are coached online. I do not have a personal trainer at the gym I use. I do not have a roommate to hold me accountable. It is all in my head.

This is all on me.

It is definitely mind over matter in the process of setting a goal, changing habits and fulfilling it. You know what? Many people have told me "they could never do what I'm doing". With that thought in your head, you are probably right.

You can't and you won't. 

If you want something bad enough, do you have the self discipline to work your butt off and make it happen?

Hop to it.
Prove it.

Until then, I'll just keep making gains and ignoring the mental "pains". Those little Devil's inside my head saying cookies are good for me are lying...

until after my show on August 15th. :) Wish me luck!

Less than 2 weeks left
until I compete.

Do you feel challenged yet?

Time moves quickly, life changes often. I can't believe it is already March of 2015! It seems like yesterday I graduated from Ohio State and started by first big girl job with Syngenta. Even as this time passes, there are things that feel like they move so slowly. One of them is feeling like an expert in your job.

Every job you have is an unwritten requirement to become an expert. Why you might ask? If you do not know the necessities and fundamentals of your job, you cannot progress to actively learn, grow and excel. Experts excel. 

To learn and grow, you are challenged. Tell me,

Make it good, make it last

Last CFAES banquet, just being goofy!

The past month has been a lot of "lasts". As I near graduation on May 4th, I have had my last days of class, my last CFAES Banquet, last exams and last times spent with friends, sorority sisters and role models on campus at The Ohio State University.

Even though I am eagerly celebrating these lasts, I am sure a few months into my full-time job I will be missing many things. This won't be because I want to go back and do my undergraduate career again. It will be based on the fact that I was able to get the most out of my experience and make it a good one. Often in life, we don't get a second chance. We can't get practice for the big game in all aspects of life. Instead, it is game day almost every day.

One of the hardest lasts I had was with the passing of my grandfather about three weeks ago. He had been ill for a while and I know now that he is in a better place. However, with him gone, it has made me realize how precious our time is to share with people and to not let our moments be mediocre. He has been one of my closest relatives and helped me grow as a young woman, carpenter and fisher. However, I did not get as much time with him as I would have liked. Now, there are more people in my life who may not be passing away, but are moving on to a new stage of life.

Me, grandpa and my sister on my birthday a while back.

With just a week until graduation, I am doing my best to make it good and make it last. It's time to make the moments with impactful people in my life before we move on to different parts of our lives.

In reality, I may never see some of these people again. Here are a few questions I want you to ponder as you experience moments in life, whether they are your "last" or not.

• Did you have a smile on your face?
• Did you make someone else smile?
• If not, why not?
• Will these life experiences be something you will remember years later?
• How can you make this the opportunity of a lifetime?
• Did you make it good and make it last?

I hope these questions provoke thoughts about your experiences. Live your moments and it will show.

Spending time at a crawl for cancer
with great sorority sisters.