When Rock Bottom Leads you to Costa Rica

I’ve always heard how marathon runners sometimes experience mild depression after race day. After they furiously train for months on end, race day comes and goes and then they’re left with a moment we can all relate to as they wrap themselves in those reflective post-race blankets and think, “Now what? What’s my next big goal?”

This was me in January 2021.

After six years of working fast and furiously every single day toward the goal of becoming the #1 coach in a network of 400,000+ coaches — I finally did it. 

After six years of climbing every day toward this mountaintop (365 days x 6 years… that’s a lot of days… and a crap load of hours) — I finally reached the peak.

After six years of honing in on big goals and developing the necessary grit along the way — I was the top coach.

So I celebrated hard with my people and they celebrated me so well.

But after the excitement faded (and it faded a heck of a lot quicker than I thought it would) — I found myself feeling like those marathoners I’d heard about. I found myself asking two things:

What was this all for?

And most of all — what’s next?

Let’s start with the first question. What was this all for? When I started out, I wanted to prove to anyone watching — my team and my children especially — that with enough hustle, hard work, determination and teachability anything is possible. Looking back, I did just that. I proved that to myself — and I proved it to them. I built my confidence and a huge business by working hard and remaining humble. Okay, question answered. Next one.

So now, what’s next? 

I knew that the same mindset that awarded me top coach would inevitably make me equally as successful in anything I tried. (When you’re a total mindset maven like me — you realize that’s not arrogance, but the fruit of confidence.) But, I also knew that I didn’t want to jump on the next entrepreneurial roller coaster. I’m 43 and these days, I’m much more interested in building a “life resume” as opposed to a “business resume.” And while I know that one day soon I’ll write that book, launch that podcast, create a new course, or build another big business — I knew at that moment that I needed a new season.

I needed to spark some joy and for me, that meant getting to the ocean and moving my body.

“You’re going to surf 100 waves,” was this divine idea I just couldn’t shake. I couldn’t escape the thought that this was what I needed to do.

When Rock Bottom Leads You to Costa Rica

So — spur of the moment — Coco and I bought two plane tickets and headed to Costa Rica for 10 days. We spent most of our time there with perpetually damp hair, no makeup, our phones stowed away and our feet glued to our surfboards. And like everything I do, once I set my sights on ACTUALLY surfing 100 waves, I was relentlessly committed to knocking it out. 

We surfed at sunrise and we surfed at sunset.

We surfed before coffee and after dinner.

We surfed in the sunshine and in torrential downpours.

And on our last day there? WE SURFED OUR HUNDREDTH WAVE.

When I think of this trip — I will forever remember the view from my board, seeing Coco on hers. It was the perfect time with Coco — completely tied up in each others’ presence. And it was just what I needed to reclaim my joy and restore my soul.

I came back from Costa Rica refreshed with a new FIRE lit under me. I came back ready to link  arms with the women on Team Together Rising and equip them to go farther and higher and wider with their businesses by helping them design the lives they are capable of living — in ways I never have before. I came back ready to work and hustle and serve and sacrifice — because I believe with all that is in me that that is what I’ve been put on this earth to do.

4 Steps to Smash Your Next BIG Goal

I am laser focused on tackling what’s next for me — and I cannot wait to share more. But for now — here are 4 quick tips to defining and achieving your next big goal:

1. Identify what lights you up, brings you joy, and sets your heart on fire. And then? Create your next goal around that. You’ll never succeed at something you hate and you’ll never smash goals if they’re things you dread. Dig deep to find your passions and work your butt off to create a life that allows you to live them out.
   
2. Make a laser-focused, time-bound goal. Without a laser-focused plan, you’ll never get anywhere. Get as detailed as possible in what you’re aiming to achieve and put a deadline on it. Don’t settle for “someday” as a timeline — set a date and work towards it every day until you get there.
   
3. Write out 3 action steps you can take immediately. I believe wholeheartedly in the power of writing things down. Not only does it hold us accountable, but it helps get our jumbled thoughts out of our heads and organized onto paper. By taking 3 high-impact next steps immediately — you’re getting the ball rolling and creating momentum up front.
   
4. Surround yourself with people who will call you up and hold you accountable. Tell your people about your goal. Tell them what you’re working towards and what you want to see happen. Tell them what your deadlines are and ask them to hold you accountable along the way. You need an army of people rallying around you when you’re chasing down big goals — they’re the ones who you can borrow belief and grit from along the way. If you don’t have these people in your life and you need some — check out Team Together Rising. I cannot tell you how fiercely I love and NEED these women in my life.

What other tips would you add?