If you’d like to be in my life, the door is open. If you’d like to be out of my life, the door is open. Either way, please get the hell out of the doorway; you’re blocking traffic.

I’ve got thousands of acquaintances, but so few friends. I like to think of it as coins, I’d rather have four quarters than one hundred pennies. I treasure those quarters for sure.

In my life, I treat others the way I’d like to be treated. Again, pretty sure we learned this lesson in Kindergarten. I also treat the owner of the place the same way I treat the janitor. There is no difference; at the end of the game of chess, the king and the pawn go back to the same box.

I don’t hold many regrets as people drop out of my life, I’ll often look at the lesson. I think it is true about a season, a reason, a lifetime. There is always something to learn through every interaction, every relationship, each friendship. If the lesson isn’t clear, I’m a firm believer that it will be brought to you again until you get it.

I’ve done a lot of great things and all of them thanks to surrounding myself with even greater people. I’ve never been one to claim that I’m successful solely, it’s often a team of powerful and driven people at my side. I’ve been so very fortunate.

Where Gym Girl began, there was a former Vickis girl. I’d worked at Victoria’s Secret for many, many years and again, with some epic ladies. My marriage was ending and I’d moved out of the area and decided to reinvent myself. I’d applied to a big box gym and began working the desk. That evolved into some management, then group fitness certification, personal training certification, running the aerobics department and ultimately managing the whole place. (People would see me outside of work and happily yell, “Hey, Gym Girl! Nice to see you!” Eventually, and rather quickly, the name stuck).

In that big box, I’d developed an incredible network of both talent and passion, and luckily, some of those fitness loving fanatics followed me as I’d ventured out on my own. Hyper Fit Training was born. The people I’d spent my days with were so freaking motivating; many of them are still on my radar and we check in with each other from time to time.

Super Storm Sandy was unlike anything I’d seen. No one was ready for that. I’d woken up lucky, with no structural housing damage, but others….well, many lost everything. It was tragic. I’d posted on Facebook and the response was overwhelming. Many of these people were my clients, but then hundreds more began to merge. SquanStrong, 501c3 was underway.

People were out of work, there was no power, there was no water, the devastation was immense. The National Guard had been called. We took one Facebook post about a coat drive and turned it into a four year non profit that raised and gave away over one million dollars through funds, appliances, cleaning goods, clothes and food…and we were just getting started.

How’d we do so much and cover so many counties in NJ? Teamwork. Tireless efforts, shared talents and selfless souls came together and made freaking miracles. I’d hardly slept for what seemed like months in the beginning, but I didn’t want to miss a thing. I didn’t want to lose momentum and didn’t want to miss an opportunity. Many of those volunteers were the same. Yep. We didn’t have anyone on a salary…all of the money went back into the communities.

I’d changed locations, and I was supported. I’d broken my elbow, my tribe rescued me. I’d gotten divorced, I’d made new friends. I’d organized fund raisers, we’d broken records.

I may have some ideas, but I’m never alone in the execution. I surround myself with excellence. I pride myself on authenticity. I’m not for everyone and I’m accepting of that. Like I said, you want to be here, the door is open….you want to go, thanks for coming.

If your circle isn’t clapping the loudest celebrating you, then that’s not your circle. Expand. Attract others. Contract. Repeat when necessary. But don’t settle; you are worth so much more.

I don’t share these things to brag, I share them to show that anything is possible with the right people. Choose wisely.