Reclaim the Moment

6CULTIVATE A REVOLUTIONARY MINDSET to Break Free from the Deception of Defeat

“The place in which I'll fit will not exist until I make it.”¹

– James Baldwin

“TELL ME THE story again, Mom,” I asked.

The simplicity of the question makes me sound like I was a child, but it was only a few years ago. I was at my parents' place, sitting up toward the end of the night before bed. My mom was sitting across the room poking around on her iPad. She looked up and smiled. She knew exactly what story I meant.

I've been raised by revolutionary thinkers. My mom changed careers every ten years, regardless of how things were going. She did this so that she always stayed fresh, never still. She was an aerobics instructor back when people wore leotards and leg warmers and had no idea what they were doing physiologically. They just jumped around until they were really sweaty and then kept going. She was an amazing aerobics teacher too. My brother and I could never keep up with her workouts. I grew up watching her destroy rooms full of people, mostly men, who thought they were showing up for an easy hour of movement and instead got a lesson in pain. After she taught aerobics, my mom became a hypnotherapist, and even though I didn't believe in it any more than I believed in the Easter Bunny or Santa, she eventually won me over, proving both me and all other naysayers wrong by helping countless people lose weight, stop smoking, and feel better about themselves. I would watch it happen week after ...