Mid-Channel....

Mid-Channel....

Friday 22 October 2010

The Power of Positivity!

On Saturday I attended the Herbalife Autumn Summit to talk to the distributors about the Arch 2 Arc and how Herbalife has been supporting me in the journey. Gavin had advised me to be prepared that everyone would be really encouraging and supportive and want to know all about the challenge - I thought he was just being kind! Well, the event blew me away! I first met with Martyn Farmer from the President's Team (as far as I can gather as they were very modest about it, being a member of this means you're doing pretty well!) who would be interviewing me on stage and we talked about the challenge and thought about the areas we wanted to focus on most during the interview. Martyn was extremely enthusiastic about the challenge and helped me to identify the key messages I most wanted to speak about, he was also unbelievable knowledgable about all the Herbalife products, when was best to use them and the science behind them. In fact this was a common theme of everyone I spoke to. Everyone used the products, everyone understood the products and everyone believed in them. Many said the Herbalife products and the role they played as a distributor had changed their life.

Around 2.30pm it was time for us to present. Martyn said he would go on stage first and do a lead in and then invite me up to join him. When he went up on stage, I couldn't believe it. People were clapping, cheering, taking photos and asking for autographs - the positive energy was amazing! What was more amazing was I got the same reception - I was staggered by how supportive and enthusiastic everyone genuinely seemed about the challenge and what I was attempting. Martyn and I talked for about 20minutes about the Arch 2 Arc and how Herbalife has supported me both financially and through product use. Martyn related it all back to the tools they use at Herbalife using words such as 'upfront decision' which basically means that once you commit to something and put that commitment into the public arena it's as good as done. The rest as he said, "is just details"!

In the evening I had the pleasure of attending the Summit party where I was hosted by Martyn and his wife and fellow President's team member, Karen. And this for me is where I was truly blown away. Without exception everyone was welcoming and extremely excited about the challenge I was undertaking. Many said it was 'an inspiration' which is always extremely humbling to hear and I posed for photographs with many different people. I felt like a true Herbalife celebrity and I cannot emphasise again how I lucky I feel to have them as main sponsors to the Arch 2 Arc. Now with another 400-odd people cheering me on, I feel even more motivated to train hard and do everything I can in my power to succeed in the challenge I have set myself.

Thank yous must go to Martyn and Karen who hosted me superbly and introduced me to many wonderful and interesting people - everyone had a story to tell! Also to the rest of the President's team - Jane, David, Penny and Jeff for supporting me and letting me join them for dinner! Also, thank you to Gavin who invited me and Mila, Branka and Alex who organised me prior to the event and made sure I got to the right place at the right time with the right presentation materials!

But mostly thank yous must go to all the fascinating distributors who were so welcoming and supportive and extremely passionate about what they do and the role of Herbalife in their lives. I had written a long list of many people I had the pleasure of meeting so I could thank them on this blog but typically I have lost it so my greatest apologies to any one I miss out.....

To Lindsey and the whole Dean Family - it was wonderful to meet you and I cannot thank you enough for your support and for getting me through the first overwhelming ten minutes of the party!

To Izabella, the most enthusiastic woman in the world and my new Facebook friend - your energy and belief in what you do is truly infectious!

To Carl - my Ironman buddy!

To Shannon, an aspiring IM athlete - just make your 'upfront decision' and go for it - anyone can do it if they really want to. If you need any help at all just get in touch!

To Sue and Raymond who are allegedly giving up 'the best Chinese in Glasgow' to join the Herbalife family.

To the many wonderful people who said I had inspired them to take on their own challenges from a 5k run to a 10mile walk to the ONER (much respect for that one - it's a toughie!!).

To the Scotland team who are flying the Herbalife flag north of the border - if you ever need me at the Glasgow Wellness Centre, I'll be there!

To Dawn who is still looking unbelieveable at 77 - if that's what Herbalife can do for you then count me in!

And finally to Renata who made my day for showing me her car where my Herbalife athlete profile is proudly displayed in the back window!

And to David, Claire, Carli, Kevin, Karen, Trish, Sarah and all the others - thank you so much for your support, it means an awful lot!

4 comments:

  1. Great to meet you at the event Rachel and Thank You (I think...) for inspiring me to get off the fence and finally decide to do the Oner next April. Luckily I have 8 years of Herbalife products inside me and your blog for training inspiration!

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  2. Hi Claire. It was so generous of you to say I had inspired you to get out there and take on the ONER. You've obviously got all the determination you need to complete it now that 'upfront decision' (love that Herbalife saying!) has been made. Really best of luck with it and please pop into the blog or onto my facebook to let me know how training is going. I'm training for a 45miler in Feb - an event called the Lanzarote Ultra which is a great build up to the A2A so our run schedules probably look pretty similar at the moment! Take care.

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  3. Hey Rachael,
    It was lovely meeting you at the event and thanks for motivating and inspiring me to take part in IM - something that I doubt would have even crossed my mind if it had not been for hearing your story!
    I am about to start training, and will hopefully sometime next year I'll be able to compete... Thanks again.
    Wishing you good luck and hoping that you have great success, Shannon

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  4. Hi Shannon,

    That's great news! Just let me know if you need any help at all. If you facebook me I'll happily send you my email and we can talk training! Which IM are you going to go for? You probably know that they sell out quite quickly so if you want to go for one next year you'll have to get signed up soon! Really hope it goes well for you. Best of luck, Rachael.

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