Shawn Stevenson:  Welcome to the Model Health Show, this is fitness and nutrition expert Shawn Stevenson here, with my co-host and producer of the Model Health Show, the one and only Jade Harrell what's up Jade?

Jade Harrell:  What's up Shawn?

Shawn Stevenson:  How are you today?

Jade Harrell:  Today I am booya-tiful.

Shawn Stevenson:  Oh come on. You are going to do sports center?

Jade Harrell:  Oh yeah.

Shawn Stevenson:  You're going to hit a sports center highlight on how you feel? I like that, so what's that?

Jade Harrell:  It is booya-tiful, I'm beautifully booya-tiful.

Shawn Stevenson:  Okay, I see, I saw it coming.

Jade Harrell:  That's it.  

Shawn Stevenson:  Alright, everybody thank you so much for tuning in to the show today, I truly, truly appreciate you being here with us. And we've got an incredible episode lined up for you guys; you know that one of the most important things when working to transform our bodies and our lives in general is understanding that this is an inside job, right, this isn't something where we're looking continuously for these external triggers, these external protocols and plans and strategies and tips, but we don't have the energy to actually get those things done. 

And that's why I like to present for you guys the top people in the world when it comes to mindset, when it comes to transforming your psychology. And the guest that we have today has not only transformed the lives of hundreds of thousands of other people, but her own in a big, big way, which I'll tell you about it a little bit. 

But first, I want to give a shout out to our show sponsor Organifi- Organifi green juice, head over the organifi.com/model and you're going to get 20 percent off of your entire purchase from Organifi, this is the green super food blend that I give to my kids, that I use myself, and of course I even travel with it, I bring it along with me; this is a real health insurance, a lot of people are taking vitamins and mineral supplements in order to kind of fill those nutritional gaps, not understanding that these are from synthetic sources, so these are not from real food based nutrients, in which your body has evolved consuming you know, something that's in a food form, and this is cold processed super food concentrates, they're taking the real foods and concentrating them down in a simple and tasty green super food bland, that you can just add to your water, add to your smoothies. 

And even yesterday, you know my son, I was like I'll  make your smoothie for you, he's like a make sure you put Organifi in it, I'm like- really? In my head I said "really", but out loud it was like okay. Because you got to play it cool with the kids when they want the good stuff. And so, one of the big reasons that I really love Organifi that it features some of my favorite super foods, one of them being Spirulina which is pound for pound, gram for gram, the highest protein food in the world. I was going to say in the galaxy, we saw Guardians of the Galaxy recently, volume 2.

Jade Harrell:  Everybody loves it. 

Shawn Stevenson:  Yeah, baby groot, it almost shed a few tears, my baby groot so cute. But anyway, Spirulina is absolutely amazing, 71 percent protein by weight, also featuring something called phycocyanin which has been clinically proven to increase stem cell genesis this is literally the creation of new stem cells. And what does that mean basically, stem cells become every cell your body needs, you need a little more ligament here, you need you need a little bit more bone over this way- stem cells are the root cells for all of those things, and when you have stem cell production you have the ability for your body to even make these progressive changes; also one of the things that featured in there is moringa, moringa, seven times more vitamin C than oranges, we're looking at seven times more potassium than bananas, twice the amount of protein that's in milk, and on and on and on, and it's clinically proven to be effective, it has been used for many, many years, but today our modern science is proving the efficacy of this amazing super food. 

And so, here's one study- this was published in the Journal of Food Science and Technology and found that taking 7 grams which is about 1.5 teaspoons of moringa every day for 3 months does in fact significantly increase antioxidant levels. So it's not just saying hey this is a good source antioxidant, but does it actually end up playing that role in your body? And yes, in fact this does, so those are just two of the ingredients that are in there. And as well as a coconut water, ashwagandha, it just tastes really fantastic, it's super easy to use and it's kid approved. Alright, so head over check them out, organifi.com/model and now let's get to the iTunes review of the week.

Jade Harrell:  Oh this one is great, "Five stars- best health and fitness podcast, The Model

Health Show is the best health and fitness podcast, period. I should just stop there; seriously though, I came across this podcast about six months ago, I have a long commute, an hour and 45 minutes one way to work, so yeah that's three and a half hours round trip, not to mention my job which is teaching in a federal prison. I have some long days, but this podcast really helps me mentally focus on everything outside of work. I downloaded a couple of episodes just to see how it was, and my mind was blown, I went ahead and subscribed, downloaded every episode, I would listen to at least one a day and I've been doing that for the past six months. Not only do I listen so I can gain knowledge, but I passed this information on to the inmates I teach in my GED classes as well. Shawn and Jade have a great relationship, and his guests are very knowledgeable as well. The thing I like most is Shawn breaks down the information into consumable bite-sized pieces which as a teacher I can really appreciate. I have suggested this podcast to all of my friends, co-workers and family. As a result of many of his tips and pointers, I am now living a healthy lifestyle and managed to lose 30 pounds in six months, I can't thank you enough Shawn, please keep doing what you do, and Jade- I love your creative words at the beginning of every episode." With a little smile.

Shawn Stevenson:  I love it. Man, that is just mind blowing.

Jade Harrell:  And powerful, right?

Shawn Stevenson:  Incredibly powerful. There's really not even any words to describe how amazing that is, thank you so much for being a part of this community, but also sharing that and extending the community and being of service in the lives of others, you know, and especially those who are in need of a transformation.

Jade Harrell: And transforming himself, so he can better show up for them.

Shawn Stevenson:  Exactly, exactly that's what it's all about for all of us, so thank you so much for leaving that review for us over on iTunes. Everybody, thank you for leaving the reviews on iTunes, please keep them coming. If you have yet to head over and leave a review- what are you waiting for, head over there right now, leave us a review, let everybody know how much you love the show, and I truly, truly do appreciate that. And on that note, let's go ahead and get to our special guest and our topic of the day. 

Our guest today is Carrie Wilkerson, and she's a best-selling author and an international speaker, and a sought after major media guests, she's been featured on CNN, Fox business news, and named by Forbes as a top small business influencer. Carrie has consulted with Google and other influential business leaders on business growth strategies, and current trends. However, Carrie mostly enjoys helping ordinary people lead extraordinary lives. She's worked from home while raising four kids, which she's just shared a story before the show, and now ages 10 to 21, that's the age range of the kids, and she and her husband Eddie have been married for 25 years. That is a quarter of the century.

Jade Harrell:  Yes it is.

Shawn Stevenson:  In case you were counting. Carrie speaks from the experience of a former corporate clock puncher, high school teacher, sales rep, growth consulting a business coach, she got her "big start" in high school by bagging groceries for tips on a military base and learned early on that her results were based on her efforts. Carrie loves showing people how to transform their lives, their bodies, their relationships and their bank accounts through core values and goal setting. Carrie is paid off over six figures in debt, she's lost over 141 pounds and she's run several successful businesses. And she's a proud parent, CEO, and believes you can create a life you love with people that matter most. I'd like to welcome to The Model Health Show Carrie Wilkerson. How are you doing today Carrie?

Carrie Wilkerson:  I'm good, I'm good, how are you guys? 

Shawn Stevenson:  Doing fantastic, so happy to have you.

Carrie Wilkerson:  It's good to be here.

Shawn Stevenson:  I haven't seen you since the Philippines.

Carrie Wilkerson:  We were on a tropical island together, I'm glad Ann was there too, or they'd be starting some rumors.

Shawn Stevenson:  [laugh] It was such a great time, one of the highlights was definitely meeting you, and you were just a powerhouse; I personally enjoyed your talk the most, it was just so inspirational and funny, and I just really enjoy myself. And we actually were the keynotes, you and I, we did, you were the opening keynote, I was the ending.

Carrie Wilkerson:  We were the anchors, opening close.

Shawn Stevenson:  Little fun fact. So I am very happy to have you here today. And I'd love you know, I shared some of your background and your bio, but I'd love if you shared for everybody, your superhero origin story, you know, what got you interested in this kind of field of personal development and just you know, being in service of the lives of other people.

Carrie Wilkerson: Yeah, well that was never a goal really. I mean, if we're just going to be honest, a lot of superhero stories are accidental right, the spider bite, the funny happenings that occur. I don't know that many of us wake up and say I want to do this and I want to be transformative, I think it's after undergoing our own personal transformations, and then being asked over and over and over again, what are you doing, and how are you doing, and then being so passionate about how our lives have changed, that it just kind of evolves in so many cases.

I think that when I was in seventh grade, I was in an English class and my teacher actually was in a Sunday morning, Sunday school Bible class with the great Zig Ziglar, he was her teacher, and at that point he had written the self esteem curriculum for junior high, because let's all be honest, seventh grade is kind of a horrible time to be alive, and he wanted the school districts to adopt it, but they needed to pilot it through several classes, and I was one of I think 15 classes in the world that got the seventh grade self esteem curriculum. And that's when I learned about goal setting and personal development, and got the voice of Zig Ziglar in my head. And I would say it then just became an interest of mine after that, I always knew that I could change things by changing my mind, and changing how I thought about things. 

As far as a career, I was in mortgage, I was in government work, I was a teacher, as a matter of fact the joke around here is I'll never be Miss America but I do have the crown of miscellaneous, and I dare anyone to take that away from me. So at the point that I adopted my older two kids, they were siblings in foster care in Texas, when I became a mama, everything changed. I decided not to go back and teach, I decided to stay home and focus on them, they had already had quite a bit of hardship, and I didn't want to add to that by them having any kind of security issues during the day. 

However, my paycheck was still very necessary in our household, so I started a business an entrepreneurial pursuits just so I could stay home with my kids, I didn't have an idea, I didn't have a passion, I didn't have any business training, there was no change the world going on, I just wanted to change their world, and it really started there.

Jade Harrell:  That's fantastic, and the world began with you there, in the lives of those children. So kudos to you and then you adjusted it, yet again to take it, to expand their world and that opportunity and it is just has gone from there. I acknowledge you and applaud you for that.

Shawn Stevenson:  Yes all of us. So, during this process, so a lot of people know you from this iconic term, or iconic label, the Barefoot Executive. And you have since kind of surpassed that, you're so much more than that initially, so can you talk a little bit about that, and what that whole meaning even was formed to communicate for people?

Carrie Wilkerson:  Yeah, absolutely. So I think when you've been in business a long time, and for me it's been 20 years, if you're not evolving, if you're not growing you're dying. It's the same of the human condition, if you're not growing you're dying, same with our gardens and rose bushes. 

So, when I first started my business, I was in sales, and then I moved into a service based business and did really great with that; sold that, started the Barefoot Executive August 2007, believe it or not we're coming on our 10th year online, which makes me like an online grandmother, because, online years are more even than dog years, so that's like a 100 years online. But the Barefoot Executive was a nickname that my husband gave me, because first of all I hate to wear shoes, I am barefoot just almost all the time at the house, now I don't go running around in the grocery store, I do have home train and all. So I worked barefooted, and at one point I was running a high six figure service based business out of a teeny tiny small town on dial up internet, and about twelve and a half months pregnant with my third child, I was giant, I was about 260 pounds and home schooling the older two, and I came walking down the stairs one day barefoot of course, and happy pregnant, you know live in my dream, and my husband said, "Babe, you're a barefoot executive, you are a CEO of this cross-country business, doing everything you wanted to do with no limitations, you have to write a book called The Barefoot Executive, you have to tell other people that this is possible." 

And that was in winter 2004, I think early winter, like January 2004, and I wrote it in my journal and then the book didn't come out until 2011, but the website debuted in 2007, it was a nickname, it was kind of a nomenclature for the person who wanted to work at home and on their terms, whether that meant shoes or a designer wardrobe or corner office or whatever that looked like, I wanted people to know that the world was changing, and the economy was changing, and we really had more options than we had been led to believe.

Shawn Stevenson:  Yes, yes so you mentioned several things in there, and also again, the legend of the barefoot executive had crossed my path a few times before we even met, I was like oh it's you, but I'm so grateful to be able to meet you, and to share the story because part of this story was the weight, right, the weight gain. So you mastered lots of aspects of business, even thriving your relationship, but this weight was an issue; so can you tell us a little bit about that?

Carrie Wilkerson:  Yeah, I think that weight is one of the few issues that have very visible manifestations. A lot of times weight is just a symptom of other stuff that we're dealing with, you know there are people with drug addictions, and spending problems, and relationship problems, that we can't see, they pass by us unaware, but weight is something that everybody sees and so whether it's a medical thing going on, or a psychological thing, or emotional thing, or whatever that happens to be, it's something everybody can see. 

And so, while the inside of me was changing radically, we were paying off this debt, I was really gaining some great disciplines in other areas, I was really learning my mom status and figuring all that out, figuring out my boys, but also in all that personal growth, I made a decision to be healthier. I adopted my kids and told the judge that I would be there for them, forever. And I felt like my weight was not responsible at that point, I felt like I was not being the best mom I could be. Now the fact is I could chuck it up to DNA, I could chuck it up to hormone imbalance issues, and those are all very real things, but as you know mr. hormone master, you know there are so many things we can do to move the needle on all of that. 

And so I just really became a student of my body, and what affected me, I don't know that there is a blueprint for everybody, but I learned what affected my body, I started body hacking and not to the extent of like you and Tim Ferris, but you know, just learning how I felt when I ate this, how I felt when I ate that, you know, what was good for me, what was not good for me etc. 

So yeah, I have dropped 145 pounds, it's been a 15 year journey, I've lost over 70 in the past three years, so I'm at a much slower rate now, in a very healthy way, and I'm no longer on a diet, I really do have a great sustainable eating plan, and I feel really great about it. I think i'm aging backwards, I feel like I look a lot younger, even than I did five and eight and ten years ago. But I really feel like that's just a visible sign of what my insides have been doing for the last 15 years as well, if that makes sense.

Jade Harrell: It does, it resonates with me tremendously, I'm so glad you put in those terms.

Shawn Stevenson:  Okay, so I've got another question for you- so a lot of people come into the health space or just are following or are interested in health for different reasons, this could be related to an issue with blood pressure or cancer, or in this case being overweight and wants to finally lose weight, so I am interested about the origin of this, so was this something that you had a challenge with growing up, or was it something that kind of came on in adulthood, I'm wondering where the struggle began.

Carrie Wilkerson:  Yes, so I was a preemie baby, I was only five and a half pounds, but you know I'm a survivor, so I overcame that super fast. I would say my weight issue probably didn't start till puberty and it was probably just a really normal hormone fluctuation, and getting curves and stuff, but I started dieting too early, and that stemmed from family history- my mom fought her entire life, my grandparents fought their way their entire life, and so I think it's Maya Angelo says that when we know better we do better. 

So as I got older, it was always a fight, in junior high, high school, I wasn't obese when I graduated high school,  I was just curvy, I was healthy is what some of my friends would say, super healthy; but I was about 155, and for a five foot three girl that's not teenage skinny. I was never teenage size, if that makes sense. So I married at about, I gained my freshman 15 in college, married a little heavier. 

But then after I got my own place, after I married, after I became a mom, it was like pulling the cord on the life raft. I look back now, like I just blew up, and I look back now and I can chock it up to some hormonal factors, obviously diet, obviously the way we ate and being ungoverned and all that, but that was also the time Shawn, that probably before your time, this was also the time that the whole Susan Powter, Stop The Insanity, the whole Dean Ornish low fat high carb stuff hit, and we are both 0 negative blood type. 

And so when we follow that very religiously, the fact is both of us gained weight both of us gained weight following that trend, and then it just became this self-defeating thing, and then I hit momhood and all the inattention to detail that goes with the survival struggle, every mom listening is nodding their head like I'm going to have two bites to macaroni and cheese off their plate, when they are done because I'm just so exhausted ,and I'm going to chug back the desert coffee, just to stay awake, and you know, all those things we do that crash our body. 

So that was my fight into my I would say 29 is when I finally got my head on straight and said something's got to change and something I'm reading is not true, and there's got to be a better way.

Shawn Stevenson:  I love this, so one thing I want to mention here is, you know, obviously throughout the years like you said, you started dieting way to early, this is something that I want to change in culture right now, you know, the acceptance, the love, the compassion, and have that imbued into our school system, but it really again, it starts at home, it starts how we're raising our children and I just want to point that out, but also, you mentioned dieting too early, and I'm sure you tried a bunch of different things, you included one which is this theory surrounding the fact that your blood type does matter and how you are consuming your food. 

It was not before my time, I know my looks can be deceived, but you know, that's what I was teaching you know low fat high carb diets, right fresh out of college, even though it didn't really that wasn't for me necessarily, but I was so strict in it and i exercised a lot, you know when I got results, but we want to be able to live our lives and not have food control us, right, that's really the big thing. 

And so, you breaking out of that is so inspiring and just being honest with yourself as well, a lot of people I think they're missing that component, I see you're shaking your head, so let's talk a little bit about the honesty factor here.

Carrie Wilkerson:  Yeah I think that, I'm going to say it's an honesty factor and an ownership factor. We have to own it, I can say oh boo hoo DNA, oh this is how I'm made, this is how I'm wired, it's been my fight my whole life, oh the food industry, oh the mass media, oh the cultural norms, oh the portion sizes at restaurants- or I can say forget that crap, I'm the one lifting the fork and putting the food in my mouth, and we are in a day and age of so many choices, I can choose what goes in my house and I can choose what goes in my mouth; nobody else is doing that for me, especially once you hit adulthood, all we've got to stop blaming even if it's true, even if it's fact, even if I have been on a diet since I was little, because it was parent initiated. Okay, that happened, and now I'm a grown up and I've got to cowgirl up as we say in Texas and on the fact that every choice from today on his mine.

Jade Harrell:  I love that.

Shawn Stevenson:  I didn't mention in your bio the tough love aspect. She will grab you up, put you in a sleeper hold and make you tap out, you know, and when it boils down to it, you are speaking the truth, you know it's our responsibility you know, so often today in various aspects of our lives we play the role of victim, and we do this oftentimes unconsciously, and even though negative things have happened in our lives, I know that you listening- I know that challenging things have happened, negative things, things that could take a lot of people out and you stayed here and true and keep moving forward; those things I'm not taking away from the fact that those things happen, but what I am saying is that it's your responsibility to do something about it. So often we're waiting around for somebody to come along and to fix those things, and that just doesn't happen, it's our lives. 

And since you brought up Zig Ziglar which is so cool that you had that experience and you were actually in a documentary film which I have about Zig Ziglar, but a quote from Jim Rome that says no one else can do your push-ups for you, right this is a simple fundamental aspect of reality, you can get all the best information in the world, and the other side you can have all these things stacked against you, but at the end of the day it's our responsibility to take action for ourselves, and to be an inspiration for others from there.

Carrie Wilkerson:  And it's in that responsibility that you become empowered, that's the context you know, it may not be your fault, but you definitely can be the cause, the opportunity for things to be different, you have that within your grasp, and that changes the context of whatever the situation we're dealing with.

Shawn Stevenson:  Absolutely, so I want to talk about some keys to success here. If you can share some specific mindset shifts that need to take place, you know, like maybe three things, three keys to success in making this transformation. We're talking about specifically physically here, but also this can apply to our business, this can apply to your relationship, this can apply to whatever the case might be, three keys to success from the one and only Carrie Wilkerson.

Carrie Wilkerson:  You know, your spot on, it absolutely counts for parenting and we've been married  25 years and you will never hear me say like happily married for 25 years, because that's just, there is no happily every single day; it's every single day is a choice because honestly all you wake up some days and you're not feeling it, there are stretches of weeks and months that you may not even like each other that much, and you have to make some choices on what your responsibility is in there, too. 

So I will say that in making changes in your marriage, in your business, in your financial situation and in your health, it first and foremost you have to own it, you have to own what the real truth is, you have to look it in the eye and say this is truth, this is now my truth whether somebody else gave it to me or I inherited it, or I was assaulted with it, or it came upon me this is now my truth and I now have the power to change that. So number one is own it, own the truth. 

Number two is, see what's going to move the needle, what are the things you can control; we cannot control the weather, we cannot control the people around us, we cannot control a lot of our relationships truthfully. But we can control how we respond to these things, you can control how you move your body, you can control how you move your mouth, you can control what you put in your mouth, and you can control how you spend your money, those are four things that if you learn to control, your mouth your mood, your mind and your money, that's just off the top of my head, they also with m, and you tell on the speaker, if you learn to control those things, you can change your world, and the world of those around you. And only you can do it. 

And the third key, I would say is you have to make the decision every single day, you cannot fix and forget, you cannot diet and then be done, you cannot say oh we're going to go on this date and that fixes our relationship, it's self awareness and tracking and monitoring. We know that people that monitor their weight or their inches or their lifts, have more success on their programs and their maintenance, because they're tracking and making sure they don't get too far off-kilter. 

My dad was in the coast guard for 27 years, and he'll tell you that they're constantly watching the gauges and the needles, and their course correcting in the plane, all the time it doesn't mean they're going the wrong way, it means they've got to get back to where they started. My mom is the seamstress, she would tell you the same thing about moving the needle on the machine, you have to track it and be aware of it. 

So I have to be hyper aware of what I put in my body every single day, if I slip, if I start making unconscious decisions, that's when I tend to get into trouble. So I would say in your relationships, in your money, in your business and in your relationship with food and fitness, the third key would be staying aware and tracking your progress and your maintenance.

Shawn Stevenson:  Love that. And I want to talk about what those actually mean for you, and also a big thing that I think could be helpful for everybody is how do you pull all of this off with all the stuff that's going on in your life, and we're going to talk about that right after this quick break, sit tight we will be right back.

Massive research is now pouring in with this blossoming field of science and nutrition called Nutrigenomics, and this field is studying how every single molecule of food that you eat impacts your genetic expression, so we're literally talking about how your body appears, your health or lack there of, all of this is going to be determined by every single molecule of food that you eat. So whether it's a banana or a doughnut, or a hot pocket, whatever it might be, we have to be in tune with the fact that this is going to impact what genes are getting expressed, and there are genes like the FTO gene for example, that has been found to be this "fat gene" and have a high propensity towards obesity if you carry this gene. Now you can silence these genes by making sure that you're eating real foods that are in alignment with your own genetic integrity. The basis of that needs to be from earth grown nutrients, things that your body actually recognizes as real food that you have a history with, that your ancestors have a history with, not things that have been invented in a laboratory like last week, alight so we want to make sure that we eat real food that are from earth grown nutrients, and this is why I love Onnit so much, this is why they are a family, this is why I endorse them so powerfully, because they are part of my life, they are part of my family's life. And I want to make sure that you head over to onnit.com/model, that's O-N-N-I-T .com/ model, and you're going to get 10 percent of all of their health and human performance supplements. 

I'm a huge fan of the hemp force protein, I've been using it for many years, one of my favorite things in the world. I give this to my kids as well, and this is one of the things that I love to have post workout. Now, hemp is based on some powerful amino acids, some powerful protein building blocks, like albumin, which is a very soft globular protein it's very easy to digest. Plus, edestin, this is a unique protein compound that is found in hemp, that might be the most bio-available usable protein for the human body, crazy right? So a lot of people today are hearing about the benefits of hemp, hemp seeds and hemp protein and things like that, we want to make sure again that you're getting organic and that is made with integrity, right, so that this cold process where you're actually able to get the nutrients that you're looking for in this kind of protein powder, protein cake that you're getting with Hemp Force protein from Onnit. So they've got multiple flavors, they've got cocoa maca, they've got the vanilla, they also have a brand new recovery protein that adds in the powerful component of colostrum, which has every single amino acid, every polysaccharide aka essential sugar and every essential fatty acid right there into these powerful building blocks. Growth factors, every growth factor that influences your body's metabolism is there in that recovery protein, so make sure that you check out that as well, superpowerful stuff, it also has immune factors to help fortify your immune system, just great stuff, and they've got exercise equipment, tons of great foods, head over check them out today. onnit.com/model for ten percent off, now back to the show.

We are back, and we're talking with Carrie Wilkerson, and this is just really enlightening and to see such a great example, so she's somebody who's out there speaking on the biggest stages in the world, and showing up and not just getting great results for herself but showing other people what's possible and helping to serve other people. And her mission, she definitely has again I mentioned earlier, the sleeper hold approach sometimes, tough love, being real about this stuff and not sugar coating it, and also at the end of the day and what I connected with when I met you, she's like a mom, just so much compassion and love and direction and I just really appreciate that about you. So I want to talk about that, with all that people have going on today, so whether or not there is a nice percentage of our community who are parents, but there's also a nice community who aren't but we still have so much stuff going on, it's like some people, they're cutting sleep and they don't even have kids. 

So what can we do whether it's kids, school, work, how can we take care of ourselves with all the stuff that we have going on right now?

Carrie Wilkerson:  Well if they're cutting sleep they, are not good students, because I know a guy that wrote a book about that, that you refer back to. I've got four kids, one of my children is special needs and I travel a bit for business, my husband travels about 90 percent of the time, I don't talk about that on social media because of safety, I don't want people to know when the girls and I are alone, but I am a single mom 90 percent of the time, I have two dogs also I have aging parents that I am very involved with, I'm very active in my church community and my school community and there is a lot, there is a lot that I juggle personally and I know other people do too, and the fact is we always have time for those things that are most important to us. The key is determining what is most important to us.

And I know that sounds too simple, and I know everybody says that's the whole rocks in the jar story from that professor, it's not about that, but if I see you posting about or talking about the latest Game of Thrones or Mad Men or Downton Abbey or whatever, I'm confused, you might as well be speaking another language to me, I don't have time for that when I have other big goals to be working on or sleep to be building my body, or you know whatever it happens to be, and I'm not saying all TV is bad, I'm saying stop whining about time or energy when you're throwing it away on games, throwing it away on the phone, throwing it away surfing, you should not be able to spout off the ten or fifteen entrepreneur launch plans of competitors or other people in the field, be some unaware and do your own thing, the race horses have blinders for a reason, it's so they are not checking out everybody else and every other lane, we've got to stop all that comparison mess, you're not getting anywhere with that. And the reason I am so tough love with people is I am a mama bear, I am and I'm protective of people that are blindly following and blindly going through the emotions and just being sheep and I want you to stop it, being self aware of your time spent, of your money spent, of your food intake makes a difference and you have to do the important stuff first. 

And so for me, that means business building activities, family activities I told Shawn before we started recording today baby girl broke her foot this week, today is her first day back at school, I'm liable to get a text or a call about rushing to pick her up, and mama bear will be all over that because that is my first and foremost priority. No it doesn't mean I have to be at every single soccer practice, every single soccer game, every single theater rehearsal, it doesn't mean my world revolves around every breath they take, it means we have a family meeting or you meet with the people important to you, you decide what priorities are and you focus on those things. It's when we're drifting in a raft that we get nothing done and that money problems stack up, relationships go bad or we don't develop any at all, and we don't hit our goals. So we have to take out the oar and paddle in the direction that we want to go, but you have to know what that direction is, you have to determine those priorities. 

So how do I get it all done? Number one is I know what I'm trying to do, number two is I will try to do it all, I have my groceries delivered with Amazon Fresh- hello best staff member ever, Amazon Fresh, I don't do all my own meal prep, there's a guy with a grill locally that does meal prep for people looking at fitness goals, so I'm supporting small business and doing that, at the same time my husband helps with the laundry, and now some people listening Shawn already did this- crossed their arms and went well l don't have a guy with the grill, or I can't afford all that, or my husband doesn't help with the laundry, well now you're just being a victim and excuse finder, those are just examples y'all suck it up and figure out some solutions, your kids can help more than they do, you could be spending some less money or looking at some apps to help out or get off Facebook, there's that.

Shawn Stevenson: Mic dropped.

Jade Harrell: Hold right there. 

Shawn Stevenson:  Alright, as soon as you said that I was just like shaking my head so hard because I felt that i was like yeah, there's going to be this excuse, there's this reason, and these some of these are very justifiable, because you are somebody who's financially free and you can afford those things-

Carrie Wilkerson:  Now.

Shawn Stevenson:  Exactly, thank you yes, but what other people can do is we have to be more resourceful, right and you mentioned earlier like if you need time for your food prep to keep you healthy and you know take care of your family, but you are spending four hours a day watching television, or you know whatever random thing kind of engaging with technology, what's most important so I love that you mentioned that I don't want people to overlook how important that is, what is your goal, what is the reason, what's the thing that's most important to you, better yet, that's what you said, what's most important and to be crystal clear on what that is.

Jade Harrell:  But not only clear, but keeping it before you that whole thing about recalibrating and course correcting is huge, because we can say that, next thing you know, you look up and like well how that get to be a week away, a block away, a mile away.

Carrie Wilkerson:  Well and the other thing is, you can you can multitask, like maybe you reward yourself with watching your favorite show or binge watching your Netflix season while you're doing meal prep on Sunday afternoon, maybe you are batch cooking, maybe you are and whatever that looks like, and you have your story on in the background, so don't say I deserve this, or I deserve that, we need to shift from a deserve culture to an earn culture; there's nothing wrong with paying your dues, there's nothing wrong with some struggle to get where you want to go, that's how muscle is built last I heard, was with some struggle and some teardown. I really get weary of people that say, well of course you can have your groceries delivered because come on, we're talking about a five dollar delivery fee, in a lot of areas or we're talking about get up earlier and go to the grocery store, go to the grocery store late, do what you need to do, stop making excuses and saying I can't do it like Carrie so I

can't do it at all, you forget I didn't start here, I started over fat, overweight in a relationship trouble with preschoolers, and now I've worked at home for 19 years, without a staff, with four kids and it can be done but not without some lack of sleep sometimes. and not without some sacrifice, and without some choices.

Jade Harrell: And you know, when you put the blockages and up with words, when you get captured by your words like I can't, I don't have, there's not enough that in itself eliminates the pathway for any action to happen. So just in that idea that well, no excuses here, what are my options, then you might be able to find some ways and solutions they may not all create the results you want, but they certainly don't block the opportunity for there to be a greater awareness and a pathway again to some action.

Carrie Wilkerson:  Yeah absolutely Jade, and here's the thing people that are so quick with their excuses, and why they can't, they're just giving themselves an out because they don't want to be held accountable for holding to it, they want to justify why everybody else is better, they want to chalk up our stuff to luck and their stuff to reason. And I had a mentor one time and now you think I'm tough, she was rough and she said one time that excuses are lies that you tell, that nobody believes but you.

Jade Harrell: I love it.  

Carrie Wilkerson:  That's ouchy right there.

Shawn Stevenson:  I don't even know what to say.

Jade Harrell:  That's going to be a disappointment. [laugh]

Shawn Stevenson:  [laugh] Somebody get some coconut oil for that.

Carrie Wilkerson:  Somebody wrap me up, that's done.

Shawn Stevenson:  So you mentioned earlier something very important which is the fact that you know we're so afraid of struggle, right, and the fact that it is actually healthy, you know, we called it it's something referred to as a hormetic stressor, these things that actually make you better if you allow yourself to recover from it, right. And so that kind of ebb and flow of life, and so I wanted to pinpoint something which is- it's not the fact that it's hard and it's just got to be that way, it's more so how can we fall in love with the process, right, how can you start to embrace this struggle, right and use it, it's a great analogy with working out, because yeah that can, for some people I guess it hurts in a way, you know maybe it's painful, maybe even the residual effects, but for me, I don't even think it is pain, I don't even to see it like that, it's just like it's a stimulation right, and it's just even how you describe it in your own mind, so start to see it as something that's actually fun and something that is enjoyable if anything, like I can enjoy this process and it's like you've been hanging out with my wife or something on Sunday as she standing in the kitchen doing the food prep, wow she's watching Vikings, right this is her new jam, like I don't even know how many episodes, I don't want to know but she's coming talking to me about the halls of

Valhalla, and all of these Ragnar all these different characters, I am just like okay baby, and she loves that, that's her kind of me time as she's doing that process, she's found a way to enjoy the process more, because I saw it initially and I am like wow, that's a lot of hard work, I guess she made the decision to do this on that day and that time segment, when our lives were different but throughout the week, it would cause some struggle points for both of us. 

And so, coming together and having those strategies and also finding ways to enjoy the process because it's not like don't ever do stuff you don't like at all, you can imbue that into your life in a more strategic way.

Carrie Wilkerson:  Yeah, I think our friend Michael Hyatt calls that "an activation trigger" So, for instance, for me I don't like cardio so much, I don't like working out, period. I'm just going to be honest, I've controlled most of my weight with the kitchen. But Blue Bloods, I love Blue Blood with Tom Selleck, I've been a Tom Selleck fan since I was a little girl watching Magnum with my daddy, so we love Blue Bloods but I don't really watch it Friday nights when it's on live, the only time I watch it is on the treadmill, that's the only time. And so, Tom and I, we don't have our time, unless we are on the treadmill, so that's one of my like risk reward kind of things.

Shawn Stevenson:  I love that, and shot out the Tom Selleck's mustache, he is still doing it.

Jade Harrell:  All of his body hair. 

Carrie Wilkerson:  And the voice, all of Tom Selleck, he is a man's man.

Shawn Stevenson:  That was my grandma's jam, I remember because you know, I used to get to watch Alf was my show, you know, but once it was time for she had these two shows The Equalizer and Magnum PI, she's just basically like excuse me, it's grandma's time, you know and I had to just kind of figure out what to do with my life, because she took such good care of me every other hour of the day except for PI.

Jade Harrell:  So she got this context too, for her, you know, I'm taking care of the little kid, my darling darling Shawn, and everything is all in place and now here we go, here's where I pour back into me that selfcare, we were asking carry about.

Shawn Stevenson:  She took care of her own garden, and all that good stuff as well.

Jade Harrell:  And she had in mind all the rest of this, like what am I doing this for, this was important.

Shawn Stevenson:  Yeah, and having an outstanding relationship, having a career, all of those things are possible for everybody today, you know, so this is the hashtag if Beyonce can do it you can do it. 

Jade Harrell: I think I am going to put Carrie in mine, if Carrie can do it, I can do it.  

Carrie Wilkerson:  My teenager says that if Lin-Manuel Miranda can do it, that's her goal. 

Shawn Stevenson:  Rennaisance man. So, I am wondering now, just to kind of circle back a little bit, and to dive in, you mentioned the fact that awareness was really a big key; so I am wondering how do we actually tap into that, you know, what role do rituals and routines play into seeing this success in our health and in our careers, and just creating a space where we can continuously be aware? 

Carrie Wilkerson:  Yeah. Let me back up a minute, and say we need to be less aware of what everyone else is doing and get out of their business, and mind our own. I need to quit stalking those other folks on facebook, need to quit comparing, and quit making excuses about why I can't do what they do and need to just take control with what I can do. Selfawareness, so you asked me earlier how I track some of that. So when I do my way in I keep a note card because in an app I can change that data if I want to, on a note card in ink, it's real, I have no cards line by line with dates and weights going back three years now.

Jade Harrell: Right. 

Carrie Wilkerson:  It's really strong, it really helps keep me on target. So I'm really aware with that, I'm aware with food as fuel and not food as fun, if that makes sense. I had to change that when food is a drug or a problem for you, you have to change it. We don't have the option like alcoholics where we just stay away from alcohol or like drug addicts, so we just stay away from drugs, we still have to eat, we still have to feed ourselves, but we have to change our mindset for the purpose. 

So being aware, tracking and monitoring, having somebody holds you accountable. If that's helpful for you, I was on my weight journey by myself, nobody was really onboard with me at that point, just now my husband is kind of saying hey okay, I want to start eating like you do. So, I didn't have like a partner or a buddy doing that with me, but that can be helpful, it also can be hurtful, because if they go off the rails they want to take you with them, let's all go for banana splits and start again tomorrow, right. 

So, you have to be aware of why you're doing what you're doing, whether it's negative or positive, you have to be negative of what your results are or how you're feeling, and that's in relational and feelings and progress and money- why am I spending right now, why do I have this urge to go online and shop what need in my filling, and then you have to look at the big goal. 

So I have a daughter in college right now, and I have to be very aware of her fatigue levels and her hormone levels even from six hours away, because she is not aware, and she doesn't want to be told that she's acting this way because of hormones, right. So she wants to quit college at least once a month, she wants to kill everybody in her life at least once a month, she wants to, you know all of the things, and right now we've got finals and fatigue and hormones, and so she said yesterday, you know I'm so frustrated because I feel like I'm putting all this work and I don't have anything to show for it. And I say wait, wait, wait- you're just equating this to a grade baby girl, this is not about a grade, you're entering your senior year, this is your last year of college, in music therapy licensing, why are you doing what you are doing for the A or for the ability to go do music therapy with chronically ill, or special needs kids? 

Let's re-think why we're doing what we're doing, it's not about the right now. So my health was not about the one pound at a time, it was about reversing pre-diabetes, it was about reversing heart conditions that my family suffered from. Right now, we're really big into the Brain Warrior's Way with Dr Daniel Amen, because my husband's family all had severe

Alzheimer's and dementia early on set, I'm not trying to deal with that, I'm trying to fight that, so we're now following the food and supplementation plan to reverse that, it's not about him losing weight that's a side effect of the symptom, it's about rewiring the pathways in his brain. 

So I think being self aware means why am I doing this, why am I doing this, what does this really matter in the big scheme of things, and until we know what that gut check is, and how it affects the people we love, how it affects the mission we have and our longevity, then I think it's just going through the motions.

Shawn Stevenson:  Wow, you know what- there are so many nuggets of wisdom in that which you just shared, and something that really jumped out for me was the fact that because of your why, and this is another thing that I saw clinically for years and years, that the big struggle point I still say this to this day, that the number one influential factor in your success in business, relationships, your health, even spiritual health is the quality of your relationships, and that matters so much, but what do you do when you're in a relationship, or you know, even if it's your parents and you're on one page of like I'm really focused on getting myself healthy and fit, and they're just not into it, they're on a whole different train. 

And how can you still keep moving forward, and you did that, like you actually did that, because your why was stronger than that, and eventually, and this is the thing, it's been years and now he's just kind of you know circling around, that's how it is sometimes, it's not always going to be this kind of you know happily ever after story, it's really just taking responsibility for ourselves, taking action, really working on changing our own bodies and just showing what is possible, you know that the cards fall where they may, because for you, it's really the benefit of how you're showing up for everybody else and changing so many lives, so on that note I'd like to ask you a final question- what is the model or the example that you're here to set with the way that you are living your life personally?

Carrie Wilkerson:  What is the model? I would say own your life, make it something worth owning and let me back up and say nobody waxes or vacuums the rent car, right, we're not vacuuming the hotel room before we move out, we leave that mess for somebody else. But with your life, there is no somebody coming in to clean up after you, it's you, it's you parenting these kids it's you and your relationships, it's you in this business, it's you and your financial responsibility, quit whining about your student loans, you signed the papers for them, you have to own it, you have to own it, wax it, take care of it, maintain it, make it better. 

And I don't know about most people, and how they were raised, but my parents were really big on when you go babysit or when you go see a friend, or when we go visit, you leave it cleaner than when you got there, you leave it in better shape than when you got it; when you borrow the car, you bring it home with some gas in it. I would like to think that I'm doing the same with my little space on this planet, I would like to think that whether I die this afternoon or in 50 years I'm leaving my little space better than when I got here,

Shawn Stevenson: I love it. 

Jade Harrell: Fantastic.

Shawn Stevenson:  Carrie, thank you. Can you let everybody know where they can connect with you online and find out more about you?

Carrie Wilkerson:  Yes, so my site is carriewilkerson.com Carrie is spelled like the Stephen King novel, thank you for that sir, and on Facebook you can find me at Barefoot Executive, that's my business and connection page.

Shawn Stevenson:  Perfect. You are the best, and I hope to see you soon. Thank you so much for sharing your brilliance and for really just stepping up along the way, you know I know that outside of everything else that we were talking about today, I've been there in these tough family situations, and seeing people that we love struggling and working within that household to keep moving forward each day, and so I just want to acknowledge you and thank you for having the perseverance, and the heart, and the compassion, and the love to keep moving forward and to just be such an inspiration, so thank you.

Carrie Wilkerson:  Thank you Shawn, thank you Jade.

Shawn Stevenson:  Awesome, everybody thank you so much for tuning in to the show today, I hope you got a lot of value out of this, this is just one great example, you know this is an amazing human being who through creating her own, paving her own way as far as business and doing this from her own home, and becoming successful in that. 

Also, you know in another parallel doing the same thing in the development and health of changing her body, right, with kind of and if you look at, if you hear a story, like all that happened too, all that too, like she had all of these things stacked against her where you think that, you know what, she could have thrown in the towel a long time ago and nobody would blame her, nobody would blame her, everybody would understand. But she knew that this was her opportunity on this planet to do something exceptional with her life, and she set it with the model that she's here to set that you wanted to leave the world better having her have been here, sharing her amazing self on the planet and that's what it's really all about.. 

So number one today big takeaway is really being honest about what's most important to you, because I think that that's a governing, it's kind of trickle-down effect of the rest of your actions. If the number one most important thing in your life is Madden football, then you know,  you could get yourself a nice gaming chair and like you know, the cheetos next to you, whatever, and just kind of set your life up to be you know playing madden and all the time, and I've been there, I was playing madden competitions to pay my rent right, when I was dealing with this whole back problem back in the day, I was like the matrix with this madden, you know, but I never got better until I put the control down and took control of my life, you know. 

And so that's what it's really about, being honest about what's most important, for a lot of us it's going to be family, it's going to be your significant others, it's going to be your kids, it's going to be your mother or father, it's going to be making an impact on your community, whatever that we got to tie right now today what is most important to you, why are you doing the thing that you're doing, why are you doing the thing that you want to do, right, why are you doing this thing that you know setting this goal to get your body into the shape that you want, what's the reason why? 

And to be honest about that, I think it's really, again this trickle-down effect and a driving force. So everybody again thank you so much for tuning in to the show today. If you enjoyed the show, make sure to share it up on social media or Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin wherever you're hanging out, share it up and provide some information for the people that you care about. I appreciate you so much, take care have an amazing day, and I'll talk with you soon.

And make sure for more after the show you head over to the modelhealthshow.com that's where you can find the show notes, and if you got any questions or comments make sure to let me know. And please head over to iTunes and give us a five star rating, and let everybody know that our show is awesome, you're loving it, and I read all the comments, so please let me a comment there and take care of your body, I promise to keep giving you more powerful, empowering, great content to help transform your life. Thanks for tuning in.