Let's talk FORTITUDE & EMPOWERMENT...

My #throwbackthursday comes with a story of FORTITUDE. It may strike a cord for you, it may not. But I am committed to touching the lives of the people I can, and it is something I have wanted to share, because it is what I feel called to do. And I haven't been able to find the words, until today. You may not understand why I share it, and that is ok too. Simply because, we all have our own journeys, and this is a piece of mine. But if you are curious...keep reading. 
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I saw a quote this morning that struck a chord... it said, "There are 3 things in life you need...FORTITUDE, TENACITY & GUTS. Fortitude to stand, NO matter what, TENACITY to stick with it, and GUTS to deal with whatever is in front of you."

(First, I must get this out of the way. By NO means am I bragging about where I stand right now. Because I can promise you, it has been no easy road, I have made a lot of sacrifices and some days are still very hard. And I can also say, I am not yet where I want to be...but I can tell you where I came from and what I have managed to do.)

In July 2013, I was struggling as a newly single mother coming out of an extremely volatile relationship, that I chose to leave. I had completely LOST myself. Verbal abuse and a very intense and unhealthy situation, had broken my spirit to a point I didn't know who I was anymore. (One day, I will be able to share whole heartedly about this, but for personal circumstances right now I can not.) I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life. I didn't know how I could possibly manage to pull myself together to provide the life I wanted for Declan...who was 5 months old at the time. I wanted SO badly to give my beautiful baby a the best life I could, and be a woman he would be proud of. I so badly wanted to make up for things I felt he lacked. I felt A LOT of pressure. 

I was no stranger to adversity and overcoming obstacles in my life--- from the death of my father at a young age...to overcoming an eating disorder...to a severe boating accident that almost killed me when I was 16...countless failed attempts to finish my degree as a results of needing ongoing surgeries...brutal operations that left me having to learn to walk again and in a medication induced separation from reality for months after each one, poor choices because I was lost, that led to some of the lowest points of my life (in which I can probably guarantee I let down my friends and family, was selfish or put too much focus on people and things that didn't matter), making excuses for myself that I had been through so much, it was OK to be lost for a while or not take action to CHANGE IT...which ultimately lead me to a pivotal turning point....unexpectedly, becoming a mother and being more lost, than I ever had been before. 

But when I saw my son, the first thing I thought was...he DEPENDS ON ME. I want to do better, be better, find me, so I can teach him, what it means to overcome anything. I want him to know strength, love, tenacity, undying will. I wanted to be proud of the example I was setting for him. 

And I had a choice. To find fortitude, daily. The meaning of the word fortitude is "courage in pain or adversity". 

A lot of days, were REALLY ridiculously hard. I literally could do nothing aside from put one foot in front of the other and do the best I could. I beat myself up a lot, because I never felt like I was good enough, doing enough, providing enough.  And it dawned on me, I never needing anything at all...except LOVE, a vision, and tenacity, to change our reality. I need to EMPOWER myself.

At the end of January 2014, I found Team Beachbody. 

I had NO idea then, how it would drastically change my life. Yes, I had an awesome physical transformation with at home workouts and nutrition...but that is just a tiny piece, of what it has brought to my life. 

I became a coach. I decided that when I felt helpless, I was going to HELP OTHERS. By pouring myself into filling others with hope, it gave me hope. By committing to better myself daily through a health and fitness routine and personal development, I gained strength-- physically and mentally. 

It gave me purpose. Passion. A focus. A place to learn and grow and thrive. A positive and support community of people, who have become some of the best friends I could EVER ask for. A place where my day dreams, where no longer just that...they became A VISION. 

It connected me with old friends, new friends, new people who's stories inspired me, new people I had the opportunity to utilize my empathy to help. Every person has a different stories, different struggles, different needs...but bottom line is, we all in some way, want to better ourselves and our lives. 

It has given me a platform to share my story openly, without being ashamed of where I have been or what I have gone through...a way to show how struggle and pain, can be turned to TRIUMPH. 

It has provided a full time income for me to support myself and my son, with NO help, from working at home. My work attire being HEART, PASSION, and yoga pants...and duh, a smile. ;) 

You may see me sharing a lot about positivity, passion, opportunity, healthy eating, workouts, challenge groups, people on my team, transformations...and not truly understand what Team Beachbody is or why I do what I do. You might even think I am ridiculously happy person who lives in a dream world. Or that what I do is a joke. 

I have had haters, non- believers, skeptics (I was once one too when I was misinformed), people who told me as a single mom, I could NEVER be my own boss and pursue my passion. And thank you, for not believing in me, because all I needed was TO BELIEVE IN MYSELF. 

And I can tell you, there is nothing more REAL. My purpose in life has NEVER been more clear. My passion has never run deeper. My love of helping others has never been stronger. And my faith and tenacity only gets stronger. 

I tell my son every night when I put him to bed, "Baby, I am building our dream life." And you bet your ass, I will keep that promise I make to him.

A wise friend told me last night, to be successful you need one of two things or both...inspiration or desperation. How true that is. 

I am now, with my team, in the top 200 of a company of over 300,000 coaches. I work full time from home, although I would do this, even if I was doing it for free. I LOVE IT THAT MUCH. 
It has changed my life in ways I cannot put into words. 

It has given me hope. HOPE for the future. Hope for freedom in many ways. Hope for health. Hope for true happiness. Hope to GIVE to others and hope to pay it forward. Hope that has turned dreaming about my vision...slowly, into a reality.

It doesn't matter where you have come from, what you have been through, or where you are right now. What matters is, what you decide to do with it. 

If we all did the things we were capable of, we would astonish ourselves. Now, nothing kills me more, than seeing someone who is not living to their true potential, lost, unhealthy, unhappy or not following their dreams. Because I have BEEN THERE. 

I look at the woman I was in the first picture, and I don't know who she is anymore, crazy to think that was only 16 months ago. I see sadness and despair in her eyes. Now, when I look at myself, in the picture on the right... I see HOPE. EMPOWERMENT. WILL. POTENTIAL. PROMISE. PURPOSE. PASSION. I see arising from the ashes, the woman I am meant to become.

I see a woman who is willing to fight for what she wants, have the fortitude to overcome anything in my path, an undying will to serve others, and inspire others to join her to do the same. 

If I can do it, SO CAN YOU. Live empowered.
You are SO worth it. 


If you are curious about coaching, or being a challenger in one of my online healthy & fitness groups, email me! I would love to connect with you! ;)
danafotiades@gmail.com











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