Elizabeth Sullivan, founder of Personal Trainer in a Box, credits a 30-day fitness challenge in 2015 with teaching her mind-over-matter and the power of deciding to believe in your goals. For business success, she emphasizes resourcefulness and securing what you need ahead of time. She tells her younger self to stop seeking external validation and surround yourself with cheerleaders, mentors, and critics.
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Welcome to the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Wagner. This episode is brought to you by Authors Unite. Authors Unite provides you with the support you need to finish your book. Best part is, after you finish your book, they take care of the entire publishing and marketing process 100% for you. So if you want to become a successful author, make sure to check out authorsunite.com. Now let's jump into the episode. All right everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast podcast. I'm your host Tyler Wagner. Today I have Elizabeth Sullivan with us. She is a certified trainer and founder of Personal Trainer in a Box, providing beginners a place to start their health and fitness journey through a personal development approach. Approach. So welcome to the show.
Hi, thank you very much. I'm stoked to be on.
Of course, and we're grateful to have you here. Um, so let's jump into the first one, Elizabeth. The first one we have for you is, what is the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
Oh yes, the best stories, um, are definitely the ones that we learn the most from. For me, that would be back in July 2015. Um, I started my health and fitness journey in January 2015. And then going into July, I decided to take on this 30-day challenge that a fitness model I was following was hosting. And so we had the same workout and had to eat the same food all throughout July. That included Fourth of July. So I found myself going to my mom's, which is where we all celebrate, always celebrate Fourth of July. And I had Tupperware with me, and I actually, I stuck through it, including on the holidays. I actually ate the chicken and the rice and the vegetables and got up every morning and and had the breakfast I was supposed to. And I did that for 30 days straight. And what it taught me was, it was mind over matter. Not only that, it kind of hit me, I wasted so much time going halfway. You know, like even months before that, I was always into health and fitness, but as far as nutrition and how, what a difference maker food was, like that had never really fully hit me. The other thing that I understood was like, I actually had control over my decisions. You know, I didn't have to place it in anybody else's hand or blame it on the environment or those around me. I actually, I actually made it a game of saying no to these things. So it really taught me that full control over everything. And so when I paired my exercise with proper food, it was a total body changer, total game changer. And now it's my purpose to influence people to take that same control. Mm.
And then what is the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?
I would say decide to change your mind first. You know, decide to believe in you. We limit ourselves by not aligning our thoughts to the possibilities. And if you don't fully believe that your goal, that it's possible, and then act in a way that would move you forward, you'll never attain it. So decide it's for you, decide it's worth it. Decide it's yours for the taking, and then make every decision proof that backs you up. You eat healthy, you move, you grow mind and body, and do what you would do as if it was already yours. You know, you have to decide to continuously focus on your goal and your outcome.
And what is your best piece of overall business advice? So not necessarily industry-specific.
Well, I co-own a business with my husband. We're a service-based business around here for 8 years now, and I would say be resourceful. Hands down, being resourceful, identifying your resources ahead of time. Don't be unprepared. You're always going to want time. You might need money. You might need help. There's, there's always somebody who can give that to you, so find that ahead of time. I think being resourceful is valuable. I could even argue priceless.
And if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
That would be stop waiting for other people to validate your purpose. It took me so long to realize that I had to be the one to believe in me. You know, I was telling everybody my hopes and dreams and goals, but I was the only one who was going to make those actually come to life. You know, they can back me up, but I had to take the action steps to do that. I had to learn to be able to take the action steps to do those things. So definitely. And also, I guess there would be different groups of people that support you in your life. That's the other bit of advice I would give myself would be identifying those groups. You know, you're going to have your cheerleaders, you're going to have your critics, you're going to have your mentors. But if you're looking to your critic to be your cheerleader, then you're never going to see the value in who they are.
And in your opinion, kind of going a little bit down a different path, in your opinion, what is the key to happiness?
Well, That depends on if you want to feel happy or if you want to live in a state of happiness. To feel happy, it's gratitude, hands down, right off the bat. You can think of 3 things right now that you're grateful for, whether it's as minor as the fact that you are breathing. But living in a state of happiness, I believe that that comes down to love and service. And I say that because in order to serve someone and to love someone, you have to give them a different piece of you. You have to invest some of your soul and your time and your energy and your mind and your emotions. And that is how you'll find yourself living in a state of happiness is through loving and serving others.
And what is the best book that you've read? And what was the number one thing you learned from that?
Well, let's see, I've read through the Bible a few times and continue to learn from it. So that's a book I encourage everyone to check out. Full of wisdom. Another book that's made connections for me is Chop Wood, Carry Water, and that's by Joshua Medcalf. Actually, the front of the book says how to fall in love with the process of becoming great. I encourage everyone to read this. It kind of backs up that growth mindset and takes you through the consistent work that you'll need to do to get to where you want to be. Hands down, it's a good book. Chop Wood, Carry Water.
And what is your favorite quote and why?
I've personalized the quote so it has a little bit more of a present meaning. It is, "She believes she can, so she does." And that's a twist on the old one, "She believed she could, so she did." I just carry that around with me. And again, we're going back to the decide, you know, once you, once you decide to believe that it's possible, then do it.
I love it. Thank you so much for coming on. The last one I have for you before we let you go is, where can our audience best find you online?
Oh, well, right now I'm in the middle of launching Personal Trainer in the Box with my team, so you can visit us at www.personaltrainerinabox.com. We're also on Facebook and Instagram, Personal Trainer in the Box. And then if you'd like to follow me personally, um, everything that I'm under is Elizabeth K Fit. That's on Instagram, Facebook. You can also email me elizabethkfit@gmail.com. Perfect.
Thanks again for coming on.
Yes, thank you very much for having me. The podcast you just heard was made using Anchor. Ever thought about making your own podcast? Anchor makes it really easy for anyone to get started. It's a one-stop shop for recording, hosting, and distributing podcasts. Best of all, it's 100% free. Sign up now at anchor.fm/new. That's anchor.fm/new to get started.
