Michaels - Unlimited: how to build an exceptional life

MASTER YOUR METABOLISM
THE MASTER YOUR METABOLISM COOKBOOK
THE MASTER YOUR METABOLISM CALORIE COUNTER
MAKING THE CUT
WINNING BY LOSING

Copyright 2011 by Empowered Media LLC

All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Crown Archetype, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

www.crownpublishing.com

CROWN ARCHETYPE with colophon is a trademark of Random House, Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Michaels, Jillian.
Unlimited : how to build an exceptional life / by Jillian Michaels.
p. cm.
1. Self-realization. 2. Self-actualization (Psychology). 3. Success. I. Title.
BF637.S4M496 2010
158dc22 2010050834

eISBN: 978-0-307-58832-6

Jacket design by Jennifer OConnor
Jacket photograph by Joseph Puhy

v3.1

This book is dedicated to the people who have educated, inspired, and mentored me tirelessly with love and care. Suze Orman and K.T. Travis, my second mommies. I look forward to all the Suze smack-downs and K.T. home-cooked meals my future holds! Dr. Phil, my fearless protector, I swear I will try to stay out of trouble so you can enjoy your spare time again. And of course Dr. Jo Ann McKarus, my mom, without whom I wouldnt exist physically, spiritually, or psychologically. I love you.

Special thanks to my brilliant team who work around the clock to help make the world a happier, healthier place:

My business partner, Giancarlo Chersichwithout you I am lost.

My exceptional editor and sparring partner, Heather Jackson, and all the badasses at Crown Publishing. I am so blessed to have your literary genius as my guide.

My valiant and talented writing partner, Claudia Herr. I am amazed you have any hair left after tussling with me project after project.

My dedicated and steadfast right hand, Rosie Acosta. I am loath to put your last name on the page lest anyone discover youre the brains behind the operation and steal you away.

My loyal crack team at Empowered Media: Ray, Danny, Autumn, Julie, and Tammy.

My beloved lawyer, David Markman.

My gangster team at CAAKevin Huvane, Steve Lafferty, Alan Braun, and Lisafor never letting me accept Plan B.

Ellen Rakieten, producer extraordinaire, it was meant to be.

Jay McGraw, Andrew Scher, and the Docs, thanks for letting me crash the show and always getting my back.

Mouse, for her endless support and patience.

And last but not least, my crew at Everyday Health who are the power behind my website, JillianMichaels.com.

The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.
HENRY DAVID THOREAU, WALDEN (1854)

God that quote pisses me off.

Why? Because its truebut it shouldnt be and doesnt have to be.

There is absolutely no reason why you cant live your dreams, no matter what they are; no reason you cant live the life youve always wanted. Look, you have dreams for a reason. Call it your destiny, your karma, your lifes mission, whatever you want, but your dreams are what define your place and purpose. When you live in fear of your own desires and ambitions, you lose sight of your true calling and your true self. Life loses meaning, and inertia sets in. You become depressed, unhappy, and start to wonder: Is this really all there is?

The answer is NO!

Every human being has the capacity to transform suffering or weakness into peace, power, strength, health, and abundance. There is no authentic goal you can set for yourself that cant be reached, no dream that cant be realized. Its just a matter of learning HOW to achieve what you want.

Thats what this book is: a how-to for wish fulfillment. Many self-help books tell you what to achieve, but they dont give you particularly useful tools for how to achieve it. They offer a lot of New Age platitudes and sappy self-help mantras:

Just love yourself.
See the glass as half full.
Believe it and it will come.

I mean, really. Thats not how it works, and you know it.

A lifetimes worth of struggle is not overturned in a moment of positive thinking. But if you have the right attitude and skills, you can and will accomplish anything and everything you want. This book gives you both: attitude and action. By its end youll have all the tools you need to change your lifeno hype, no false promises.

So what are we talking about: Career? Love? Emotional health and physical well-being? Yes, yes, yes, and yes! This book is a manual with only one purpose: to arm you with the strategies you need to achieve anything you desire and become whoever you want to be. Unlimited gives you a step-by-step plan that will enable you to begin a purpose-filled, meaningful life according to your truth and on your terms.

I know what youre thinking: Whats Jillian Michaels doing writing a self-help book? Shes the fitness guru, right? The fact that people think of me as a fitness guru is hilarious. I imagine a fitness guru as someone who wears spandex, feels the burn, and loves an endorphin high, then follows it all up with a shot of wheatgrass. That is so not me! What I do is not about fitness. Exercise is just one of the tools I use to help people rebuild their lives.

If you referred to an architect as a sketch artist, he would look at you like you were an insane person. Architects help people build homes; sketches are just one tool they use to do it. Well, thats what fitness is to mea tool I use to help you build a life. Its never been just about the sit-up. Even my fitness best seller, Making the Cut, is at its roots about striving for excellence in your life, not just at the gym.

So here we are, with a life to build and no exercise routines to suffer through. Dont panicwe wont need them. This is about being healthy in all aspects of your life. If getting physically healthy is your focus right now, check out one of my last three books. This book is about everything I do with my contestants behind the scenes that never makes it into the episodes cut for TV (well, maybe some of it on Losing It). Its about the quieter but necessary steps for transformation, the nuts and bolts of what I do to be successful in my own life, and the tools I use to help others get there as well. It isnt about calorie counting or ab crunching; its about self-exploration and discovery.

All you need to begin is courage, conviction, and faith, both in yourself and in me as your guide. Sure, at first the faith-in-yourself part is hard, but thats where I come in. See, I dont just hope you can do thisI know you can.

Lean on me while you get stronger. And trust me: you have unlimited potential and the ability to fulfill it. We all doits just that some of us know it and some of us dont.

Now, get ready, because its time to stop being quiet and desperate. Screw survivingits time to THRIVE. Unlimited health, wealth, and happiness are just waiting for you to claim them.

I cant promise you its going to be easythink about it, nothing worthwhile ever is, is it? Achievement doesnt come without risk and sacrifice. But what I can promise you is that I will cut out the crap and tell you what works. Come with me on this journey, and your life