"A moment on the lips; forever on the hips." This old adage is has proven itself to be true for wellness and maintaining a balanced diet, but also speaks to the impact a small amount of knowledge, a simple decision or even a tiny action can have on big picture goals or planning.

Co-hosts Bart and Matthew dive into this topic with guest Kelli Denes, Account Sales Representative with Raining Rose, a partner of Flywheel. Although Kelli is a stellar professional, its actually her personal objectives and lifestyle that is discussed as part of our effort to pump our followers full of knowledge that will help them find their own level of greatness. To simplify, we break it down into different areas of personal focus, because if we don't take care of ourselves, we can't effectively put energy into anything—friends, family, a career—that matters to us.

Seek the Knowledge

Knowledge is actually the first piece of the Kelli puzzle that she addresses first, admitting that she is a sponge for anything that will make her a better person.

"I know I am a constant learner, and I truly feel that I have something to learn from every single person that i encounter," Kelli said. "I don't care who they are. They could be my Uber driver. So, I'm constantly seeking information and listening and observing, and consuming information that I think will improve areas of my life and being honest with myself on areas that I do need to improve. But I do really think there is something to learn from everyone."

Take Breaks as Needed

In addition to being a wife, parent and professional, Kelli has also sought to further her education. How does this work when she also has a number of other passions like working out? She made sacrifices. Rather than quit, she decided to take a 3-month break from the gym.

"I traveled every week, I took 2 classes at once, so I had a 30-hour school-work commitment on top of business travel and my life, and it was just something that didn't fit," she explained. "What I did do to compensate for it was I took advantage of every opportunity that I could, and I mixed things together. So, when I was playing with my kids, I would play with my kids and run and do cartwheels or go kayaking while they were swimming in the lake. Instead of just milling around, I would push myself hard and challenge myself."

What does greatness mean to Kelli?

"Not settling for what it is today, but still being in progress
and working on what will be great down the road."

Give Yourself Grace

We all want to be successful and be the best version of ourselves, but at some point, we can reach our max. Multi-tasking our goals can actually set us up for failure. As reported in a recent Inc.com article, "To accomplish as many goals as possible, it's best to work through them one at a time." Why is this the case?

"Whether about personal improvement or massive business projects, the attention we give to tasks is often very divided. And with each subsequent goal, our attention is divided even more."

Kelli couldn't agree more.

"It also comes down to keeping your priorities in mind," she said. "Is it more important that I get out the door and go to the gym, or is it more important that I play with my kids?"

By taking things slowly and offering forgiveness and grace to yourself if you slip up, you'll be kinder to yourself and be less likely to fall off the positive path that you're blazing for yourself.

(Check out the rest of Inc.com's "Goal Setting: Do Less & Accomplish More" article for steps on how to set reasonable goals to fast-track your success!"

Prioritize Your Wellness Needs to Be a Priority

"Food has not always been a priority for me" Kelli told us. "My journey with food has been a long one. When I got married, I didn't even know how to cook. I did not eat anything healthy. When I look back I cannot think of one thing that was constant that was healthy."

Once she became a mother, she grew more aware of what she was offering her children and gained more information from mentor about clean eating, which she and her family adopted: "If we don't make it, we don't eat it."

The definition of clean eating varies depending on who is asked, but it essentially means eating for nourishment while keeping in mind the benefits of micronutrients and macronutrients on overall wellness. After having a health scare, Kelli sought nutritional help rather than going to the doctor to see how should could ward off the intense joint pain that she was having, which over time resulted in reduced inflammation and minimal discomfort.

"The choices that I make with food make an even bigger impact than exercise so that's something that I don't mess with too much," Kelli said. "The food I consume is going to give me great results."

Limit Consumption of Negativity

Aside from food, we consume information and emotions in many other ways that can greatly impact our attitude and our stress level, which in turn affects our physical well-being. Kelli calls it her "bliss bubble". If a news story or an interaction with a person could interfere with her bliss bubble, she takes precautions to protect herself.

"I'm very guarded with the amount [of negativity] that I take in," she said. "People who are not positively charging you or are zapping you of your energy, then you're not showing up with your best self and that affects your day in every way."

From gossip to mindless television shows, we consume a great deal of energy that is not always positive and can actually counteract all the other good things we strive to do for ourselves, including eating well and exercising.

How can we optimize ourselves to be better leaders and individuals? Take a look at this list of "life facts" to see what areas you might want to focus on!

Optimize Yourself!

• Healthy Eating Habits = Positive Life Choices
• Limited Energy = Limited Productivity
• Hunger = Distractions
• Extra Caffeine = Extra Stress
• Poor Health = Poor Performance & Presence
• Positive Comments = Positive Attitude & Progress
• Small Goals = Impactful Changes

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There's so much more to this discussion, so tune in

by clicking on the image below!

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