Olivia Bartlett-Marques is an extraordinary woman. You have not let any social norms affect a passionate view of your life. She started in the fitness industry at age seventeen and became CEO and partner in the burgeoning TEAM Fitness business at age 21. At 24 he took the beginner and general awards for the Natural Physique Championship.

This type of sport requires great dedication and concentration. With a rigorous training regimen and an extremely clean nutrition plan, just send anyone else to lie down and take a nap just by listening.

But it is more than discipline that allows you to get up at 4 in the morning and do 18 training sessions per week. The conscious mind only executes between 2% and 4% of our behaviors, so there has to be something deeper in the subconscious that sustains an individual to such an extent for success.

Olivia says it comes down to a few key things:

1. Have a deeply personal reason for undertaking your goal. For her it was a deep-seated desire to stop not feeling comfortable in her own body to want to feel proud and in awe of her physique. For Olivia, this wish was many years old and pushed her forward through many dark and gloomy morning runs. Many did not understand why he was undergoing such a vigorous regime; And that’s the point: Success is for no one but you, and you don’t need to explain it to anyone. You just have to feel it as a ‘must’ for you.

2. Let yourself be pushed up by others who have gone before you. Olivia had never competed before and had only seen one other figure championship. But she believed she could try red hot. He read stories about other competitors and posted their photos on his desk for inspiration. One of the women had undergone open heart surgery and was told she would never be able to exercise again. She proved them wrong and kept winning competition after competition. If this woman who had had a near death experience could do it, she could do it.

3. Enjoy the process. Olivia had no ambition to win, just to do the best she could. And week after week of long training sessions, body fat control, careful nutritional planning, he needed to find success in the process. And he did: every time he made the decision to go for a run or try harder, he made the decision to do his best. Each day was a reinforcement of her vision, of her commitment, of her promise to herself to feel good and live a new version of herself. He felt stronger every day. Winning was just the icing on the celery.

Coach Challenge:

Whether or not you choose figure championships as your personal goal, check to see if you’ve sparked the passion and inner fire for your goals … If not, then see if you can grab a sheet from Olivia’s book.