Is Love Really All Around At Christmas Time

Reflection time and New year go hand in hand. Somehow you can't get away from it.

Beneath all the Christmas cheer is this little voice that says "reflect" on the year that has been, on where you were this time last year and where you are now.

A few years ago I was told something very simple that had a profound impact on how I lived my life from that moment on. I was told

"There are only two emotions - love and fear. You are either in a state of love, openness, or in a state of fear, contraction. It is that simple."

Those words had a profound impact on me because on reflection I realised them to be true. When all the shades of grey were taken away, all the mental games broken down to their most basic component part I realised that it was that obvious and that simple and that liberating.

Those same sentiments were echoed beautifully in an article I received recently written by Charles Poliquin. He writes " There is no such thing as discipline. there is only love. Love is the most powerful creative force in the universe. You are the result of what you love most.....If you truly love yourself then you will make truly loving choices."

I love that because it incorporates what I know to be inherently true about wellness and about what we are up to at evolution (the business and community).

That is why I don't need to write about effective carb choices at Christmas dinner or not obliterating yourself at the New Years Eve Parties.

And here is the beautiful 'curve ball' spoken by one of my martial arts teachers many years back

"A little bit of poison is good for you".

If you can temper that with loving decisions then you are truly on the path.

So how do you do that ? Simple, Ask yourself " What love would LOVE do now ?"

And don't think that the answer is always cheesy. Because sometimes love will have a crazy new years eve party or go wild over the Christmas Turkey. that is what makes the journey fun, engaging and challenging.

You see if love was as simple as always doing the 'right' thing then life would become so very boring and predictable. And predictability is death.

In my experience it is about keeping it enriching, curious, fun, and sacred. I remember always that my body is my temple and that my health and my children are my greatest gift

I remember that this moment will not come again and this experience, however it looks is part of a tapestry.

That same tapestry is why we created evolution and why we train at 6am. That is life truly lived, a life that is full of sunrises, fresh air, the smell of wet grass, the sound of a city waking, frosted breath, sand between toes, the feel of rain on a face, a muddy t-shirt, a well deserved coffee, the buzzing of a fly, the splash of water, the sound of a bird, the wind through the trees, the laughter of a group of kindred souls.

Have a beautiful loving Christmas

Onward and upward

Mike and team evolution

What Are The Measures Of Success

I recently received an accolade from a friend who lives overseas about the 'success' of evolution.

he see's the facebook posts and the photo's and concluded for himself that evolution is very successful.

In my books he is successful. He has a beautiful wife, great kids, a multimillion dollar home and his own Company. He also happens to come from a very privileged background.

I shrugged off his compliment. I must have thought it wasn't warranted.

On reflection i wondered about it. Why did I not take on what he said with a beaming chest and a sense of pride and that got me thinking "What is the measure of success"

Here are my top 4

Commitment and adherence to a clear vision that is shared by a group of inspired people: - To have a dream and then set out to create it is an honour. I created the evolution vision over a decade ago. I called the Company evolution (my brother came up with the name) because I knew that as we went on the journey that vision would evolve.

There have been many ebbs and flows, & ups and downs but with tenacity, belief, consistency and sometimes sheer will we have turned the vision into reality.

That vision is also shared by an inspiring group of people. My measure of how much this vision is about me is 'hit by a bus theory'. I ask myself often, "If I were hit by that proverbial bus would evolution keep going". At our recent Company Retreat I said to those present " evolution is now in a place where it would keep going because we have two key things - Great people and great Systems and I am now merely the spark and not the flame.

Creating something that makes a difference in peoples lives: - I feel like this has two aspects. The first is leaving things better then I found them. Knowing that our product has no negative social or environmental impacts and does not mislead consumers and stakeholders in any way. When we first modeled the evolution concept we agreed that there needed to be a WIN for clients, trainers, the Evolution business, and the greater community. And that is what we have done and we have done that consistently. We also have the privilege of seeing that difference every single day. Giving our clients the joy of sunrise, enriching their lives, creating meaningful relationships, and watching their own wellbeing transform. Equally, seeing our evolutionaries (head trainers) becoming true leaders in their lives and in the lives of those around them. That is true success.

Financial reward: - The money is important because with the money we have the tools and the freedoms to do the things we love, provide security and sustenance to those who depend on us and make a difference in the broader community. And so the financial success of evolution is very important to me. To know that our clients feel like they are getting great great values for money and to see our key stakeholders get a great financial return for the time and energy they put into evolution. The key then in the world of finances is to always keep it in perspective.

Recognition from Parents, family and friends : - recognition feels great. it does not mean our name ablaze in lights or having speeches made about us but it does feel great when those whose opinions we value tell us how proud they are of who we are and what we have achieved. It feels really good, engenders respect and is a barometer that we are on the right track.

The Will and Grace BL - Amazing smoothie

The Will and Grace BL - Amazing smoothie

Background: This smoothie was originally created by Mike but was perfected by Caz. It has come to be known as The Will and Grace BL - Amazing Smoothie. The story as to how it got its name is for another time (and definitely worth hearing)

it also contains every possible antioxdiant age enhancing, free radical eradicating blah blah that you could want...........and it tastes great

What you will Need

1/ A sense of humour

2/ A hand blender (much better then a liquidiser)

Ingredients

• Fruit juice (Mango is best) - About one teac cup full to cover everything
• Yoghurt (Jalna Bush honey is reccomended) - 2 large dollops
• Frozen fresh berries (Sara Lee mixed berries is great - a handful
• Tahini in a jar (Mayvers unhulled) - one large soup spoon
• flaxseed oil (expensive but worth it, very high in Omega 3 - one large soup spoon
• Juice plus fruit and vegetable capsules (two of each)
• Manuka Honey - heaped teaspoon

Next

• Mix all the ingdredients together and blend until smoothie
• Drink and enjoy

Other things you could add

More sense of humour

olive leaf extract

pepita's

Chia seeds

The Magic metric

For the past 8 weeks, on a Wed evening I have been attending a business mentoring / coaching group led by self made millionaire (and financially free) Creel Price. Creel is almost the same age as me and his vision is to bring change to the world through working with young entrepreneurs who are out to make a difference and create financial success for themselves and those around them.

At last nights session we discussed the 'magic metric' - it is essentially the one key thing in the business by which all the rest of the business can be gauged.

In other words, if it is working everything else by default must be working.

We set to work and brainstormed and then it hit me so clearly. "I have got mine" I said

"lets hear it"

"It's how full the KLIKS are in winter" - that is the all important measure for evolution.

To sustain a KLIK year round, to inspire people to keep training and make the training a lifestyle habit which is best expressed at evolution. that is what we are aiming for.

To grow in Spring and summer almost anyone can do but to do it in winter is what makes us the best and ultimately creates a sustainable solution for our evolutionaries and for our clients.

So what does that mean. I guess its a little like the farming analogy. We need to be sewing our winter crop in summer so that it is growing in winter. We need to create strong lasting alliances with potential partners. We need to know how to create a context with out clients where they see us as a sustainable solution and don't relate to training like its something they do in summer only.

While its fantastic to have full KLIKs in summer lets really think about what it takes to maintain that in winter and look to implement those strategies now so that a full KLIK in the winter months becomes a reality for all.

What is an evolutionary (trainer) and what is a KLIK (location)

An evolutionary is a

• Community leader
• A leader and a manager of people
• A pioneer
• A person who wants to be part of the solution and not the problem
• A team player
• Somebody who wants to create their own business in the context of a team concept
• A person who authentically cares about and knows how to connect with people
• A person capable of leading, advising, nurturing, empowering and assisting a large group of people
• An awesome instructor
• Somebody who is open to honest, open and straight feedback and welcomes the opportunity to grow, learn and develop
• A person who wants to be a part of a Company that has a bold and ever evolving vision

We have created what we call a partnership model. And it is a model that is ever evolving.

We launched our initial KLIK in early 2001 in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs. originally it was called a region. the name was changed because it suggested a specific territory and that is not correct.

it took a number of years to get the model right, find the right people, clarify the vision and stay focused. Our initial growth was slow as we needed to prove the concept and our capacity to replicate it without creating a cookie cutter model.

We did that exceptionally well and also proved the financial viability at the same time.

As an outdoor trainer for over 15 years i feel well qualified to call myself an expert in this space.

Nine years ago i was convinced that group training was the wave of the future. We are only at the tip of the iceberg. As people search for both community and an affordable training option so they will begin to gravitate more and more towards group training solutions that recognise that training is only once component of the model.

Coupled with this will be the realisation by both trainer and customer (client) that this revenue model makes total sense for both parties. The personal training model (one on one) will become less and less relevant.

Our evolutionaries operate in a particular location i.e. Bondi KLIK and look after a specific group of people who belong to that KLIK. they oversee every aspect of those peoples relationships with evolution from wake up calls to agreed membership rates. from session delivery to goal setting consultations.

All evolutionaries follow a specific system and are provided with all the tools that they need to operate their KLIKS. wherever possible these are created centrally so that evolutionaries can leverage off one another.

Evolution central takes care of all transaction processing and oversees all aspects of every KLIK to ensure a totally seamless client and trainer experience.

Evolutionaries also operate within a local community, are part of that community and create that community with their evolutionites. the result is a truly authentic community experience existing as part of an overall business that is committed to solutions in the wellbeing space.

Evolutionaries also operate as their own community. recently we have introduce a new role called cluster managers. these evolutionaries oversee a group of 4 other closely associated (by geographical location) KLIKS and mentor their evolutionaries. they also create intiatives both at and post session that allow the evolutionites from these KLIKS to connect with each other.

There is no specific evolutionary mould and we are open to whoever is interested provided they embody or have the potential and desire to embody the traits i listed above.

What is the 6am and evolution vision

Many Different sessions
In Many different locations
With many different people (evolutionites)
And many different trainers (evolutionaries)

People who move together, hang together, work together, create friendships together, transact together, evolve together, share together, learn together, support each other and become a community inspire others.

The core of our connection, or the thing that brings us together is training together at 6am in the morning (at sunrise) in our KLIK (area) led by a specific evolutionary (head trainer)

To make this work we need a variety of activities, beautiful locations, people who enjoy being around each other, inspiring leaders and an overall experience of liking the people around us, trusting them and feeling safe with them.

The glue that binds this is a commitment to consistent exercise (movement) at 6am in the morning as part of a lifestlye habit.

The simple reason why this is important is because a transient community is not really a community. that is why we inspire in our evolutionites (clients) a lifestlye that includes regular exercise at 6am rain or shine, summer or winter.

The other core component is the 6am timeslot. I have been asked many times why 6am ? and why 6am only. The answer is quite simple. An exercise habit that occurs at 6am totally enriches your life. here are some of the resons
There is something magical about waking up with the world / sun
getting up early in the morning adds to your life it does not take away. you are not encroaching on family, work or social time
You take the benefits of the training into your day with you
Very few other commitments get in the way of early morning training
It washes away all the cowbwebs - it does not matter how bad your headspace, watch the sunrise, get the blood pumping and hang out with some great positive people and watch how your headspace transforms.

My ultimate vision is that we operate Nationally (and even internationally) and create a truly affordable truly SUSTAINABLE exercise and lifestlye solution.

That is why our concurrent project is to introduce group nutrition and goal setting programs that are also affordable and sustainable. Watch this space

Its time to begin - the spark becomes the fire

At the evolution induction weekend I shared an experience that impacted me profoundly and is in many ways the source of what i am creating.
About 5 years ago i went to a concert - Jonny Clegg, a White South African who brought us (South Africans) the sounds of tribal Africa. We grew up with the sounds and rhythms of Jonny Clegg and Savuka.
Outside the concert hall the mood was electric but inside it was subdued. Everyone was sitting down and there was no fire. The concert began. We were standing right at the back (the only way not to have to sit in our seats).
The band strummed out the first two songs and nothing was working, even he seemed flat. My partner and i decided it was time to do something. We danced right down the aisle, past the security to the front of the stage. Security came up to us. We kept dancing. Then one person got up, then another and another and within a few minutes we were surrounded by dancers and had totally overwhelmed security by our sheer volume. And then everything kicked in. Jonny Clegg kicked in, the vibe kicked in and the concert took off. It was one of the most powerful experiences of my life.
It was powerful because i realised that i had the power to create the experience. it was more powerful because i realised i was merely the spark. without the spark the fire would never have happened. Without the fire the spark would have gone out.
In the beginning we were acknowledged by a few people but within minutes we were just part of the groundswell and an amazing concert experience.
I have been that within evolution and my vi son of where I see the health and fitness industry going. In the beginning I was a lone voice in the outdoor training domain and a loan voice in the 6am time slot. Today evolution operates Sydney wide and in Brisbane and we grow month too month.
This is just the beginning on one level. on the other, the fire has now started. I am no longer a spark and very very soon the whole vision will be swept along in a tide of evolutionaries and clients