PiYo Infomercial Part 1: You are the Chosen One

It's hard to know where to begin with this one.  I know you've all come to hear my big announcement.  And I am SO excited to tell you.  I have been holding it in for weeks and so OF COURSE I am excited to tell you.  But the more I sit on this secret of mine, the more it spins in my brain and the more I reflect on it, the more I realize that it wasn't the OPPORTUNITY that was amazing necessarily (although don't get me wrong, the opportunity was friggin awesome), it was the fact that I actually did it.  I put myself out there, more than ever before.  I took a financial risk that many thought unwise.  I fought through the anxiety of the WHAT IF I AM MAKING THE WRONG DECISION? and just. fucking. did. it.  And you know what happened?  I realized that I am a badass.

Seriously.

I found something that I enjoy, I pursued it, amazing things happened, and then I didn't make excuses. I went out and I lived my life.  I did something crazy.  Something that just a YEAR ago would have sent my nerves into a tailspin.

You know what sucks?  Regret.  I have always held true to the mantra:  Forget regret, or life is yours to miss.  And that has really worked for me.  Because my life has been filled with overanalyzing and pros and cons lists and endless conversations consulting everyone for their advice.  I have never put myself in a situation that could allow for regret.  And I am ok with that.  And I will probably continue to live most of my life that way.  I like safety and security.  I like that my savings account has money and that I brush my teeth twice a day and that I don't jump out of airplanes.  BUT for the first time in my life, I took a chance in which the outcome was unforeseen.  In which my decision was cautioned by my parents.  In which I had to spend a lot of money.  Forget regret, right?  I knew.  I knew that if I didn't take this chance, THAT regret would be worse than the regret of not doing every damn thing I needed to do to get there.  So that's what I did.

I applied, was chosen, and attended the invitation-only taping of the brand new infomercial for Chalene Johnson's and Beachbody's workout program PiYo.

You remember PiYo?  My soul workout.  The workout that saved my life.  The workout that rehabilitated my knee, my body, and my mindset.  The workout that taught me that I didn't have to run to stay in shape and be worth something, but that helped me get back into running anyway.  The only Beachbody workout that I've complete twice.  The workout that I got certified to instruct.

It all started when Beachbody posted on Facebook that they were looking for people to submit their pictures and their stories for a chance to be selected to be in the PiYo infomercial.  You had to be available to be in Irvine, California on the day of the taping.  Many people commented, "Oh man, I would love to do this, but I live far away!"  "PiYo changed my life, but I just can't spend the money to get there!"  "There is nothing I would rather do, but I just can't get out of work!"  There were a lot of "buts" in those comments.  So when one friend tagged me in the comments, and then another, and then another, I thought, "Well, why the hell not?"  I already had my story.  I already had my transformation photos.  All I needed was a video of myself doing some of the moves.  So, at 10:30 pm after a long, gluttonous Memorial Day Weekend at the beach, my husband taped some of my most impressive PiYo moves.

Everything was due to be emailed by noon on Tuesday, May 26.  I wasn't entirely sure if that meant noon PST or not, so I did it in the morning just to be safe and went about my day...

...looking up red-eyes to and from Los Angeles.  I don't even know why.  Something told me that I should be prepared. Now, I'm not going to tell you I was walking around saying, "I've got this in the bag, no problem," but I wasn't walking around saying, "This was stupid there's no way they're going to pick me," either.

The ad to apply for the infomercial stated that the people chosen would be informed on Friday, May 29.  So imagine my paralyzing shock when this happened:

I never pick up numbers I don't know.  If it's important, they can leave a message.  But you can bet your ass I picked this up.

Yup.  It was Beachbody.

They wanted to know where I was from.  My area code must not have rung a bell as being local.  When I told them NJ, they asked, should I be chosen, would I be willing and able to be in Irvine, California on the day of the shoot.  I believe what I told them was, "I would WALK to California if you picked me to be in this shoot."

"Great, we'll let you know on Friday."

Cue me texting everyone I knew.  I mean, they wouldn't call me if they weren't seriously considering me, right?  How was I going to wait until Friday to find out?

Apparently, I didn't have to.  Less than 24 hours later, this happened:

I was officially invited to the PiYo infomercial shoot.  It would be an all-day affair in Irvine, California.  Of course, Chalene herself would be there.  More specific information about location and dress code would follow.

WTF.  Cue frantic screaming phone calls.  I was going to meet Chalene.

I was, as you would expect, ecstatic.  And then, terrified.  I must be crazy.  I was going to go to LA and back, for less than 48 hours total, rent a car, find somewhere to stay, put myself in a situation where I didn't know anyone, all by myself and on my dime?!  Many people I talked to felt the same way.

"Wait, you have to pay for this yourself?  Is that a wise financial decision?  Didn't you just buy a house? Why would you do that?"

"Yes.  Probably not.  Yes.  Well..."

Because.  Because WHO applies to be in an infomercial for a product they TRULY believe in, let alone gets CHOSEN to be in it?  Because this "Beachbody workout hobby" of mine has changed my life, and this is a chance to show the world.  Because life is only life if you live a little.  Because it would make me HAPPY.

That's why.


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