Tony Horton's Fitness Camp

A year ago this month, I attended my very first Tony Horton Fitness Camp here in New York at Roselands Dude Ranch. Looking back, it's difficult for me not to realize the profound impact camp had on my life. Not only did the camp give me the extra motivation for my own workouts but it gave me a purpose and a sense of direction. Before I attended camp I hated my job as a pharmaceutical sales rep and was on an antidepressant therapy to help me cope with my extra displeasure for my job. I remember packing my bags and saying to myself that I wasn't going to need my medicine. I made the decision right then and there that my life was going to change and I was going take control. It was at camp that I realized the potential of being a Team Beachbody Coach. I signed up in March of 2007 simply because Beachbody was waiving the $40 sign up fee. I really didn't understand the business structure. It seemed confusing and different but I figured that eventually I'd get more serious. It wasn't until I went to camp and met some wonderful people who showed me the opportunity that Beachbody was giving me. There I learned what the coaching opportunity truly meant and what it could mean for me.

I hated my job, that part was clear but what wasn't clear was what I wanted to do with my life. The Spring before camp I volunteered as an assistant JV lacrosse coach to help relieve the boredom from my job. Slowly the idea of pursuing a phys ed degree started to present itself and grow. At camp I spoke with Traci Morrow, one of the founding members of Team Beachbody, and we spoke about my distaste for pushing drugs and how my job brought me very little satisfaction. I initially loved pharmaceutical sales (I did it for 5 and a half years) because I truly thought I was helping people to get healthy. What I was doing was pushing a quick fix solution to a life long problem. During my last year as a drug rep I spoke more about health and nutrition and my experience with Beachbody than I did talking about the medicines in my bag. Traci explained to me that the coaching opportunity was just that, an opportunity. It was an opportunity that could provide for me what I truly wanted and that was happiness. I wanted to be happy.

Where I was the happiest was when I could help others. I wanted to help change peoples lives the way mine has been changed by Beachboby. But in order to help people find Beachbody and help them change their life with exercise and proper nutrition, I had to first become an example. I was 205 lbs at camp. Initially I was at 225 then thanks to Power 90, Power Half Hour and P90X I hit 185 lbs. I decided to quit smoking thus the weight gain back to 205 lbs. If I was going to commit to coaching and create a business opportunity that would allow me to quit my job and pursue what made me happy, I first had to lead by example. My results and my transformation were now directly tied to my health and wellness. It was camp and the people who I met at camp that helped me to realize that I have the ability to be fit and healthy for the rest of my life, pursue a career in Phys Ed where I could truly be happy, and help people change their lives both financially and physically as a Team Beachbody Coach. I have gone back to school full time, lost the smokers weight and now weight 176lbs and I am now helping others to lose weight, stay committed and build a business opportunity for themselves.

As I write this I am sitting in the Jet Blue terminal at JFK pondering what will Tony's camp have in store for me this time? I have no expectations. I'm not going to assume his camp will have the same impact it had on me a year ago. I'm not going there expecting the same experience. Why would I want the same experience I had a year ago? That would be boring. This camp is going to be different. What different means, I don't know. Time will answer that question. What I do know is that when I get together with people from Beachbody, the positive energy is something that can't be matched. I left all my negative thoughts and self doubts back in Rochester. It is time to let it all go and just be. Enjoy the moment. The here and now. The past is history and the future is a mystery. Today is a gift that is why it's called the present. It's time to just be.

http://www.JoePetri.com