Unlimited: How to Build an Exceptional Life

ALSO BY JILLIAN MICHAELS

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
158—dc22                       2010050834

eISBN: 978-0-307-58832-6

Jacket design by Jennifer O’Connor
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 wouldn’t exist physically, spiritually, or psychologically. I love you
.

CONTENTS

Cover

Other Books by This Author

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Introduction

STEP ONE
IMAGINE

       
CHAPTER ONE
  
Identify Your Passion (Or, What the Hell Do You Want to Do with Your Life?)

       
CHAPTER TWO
  
It’s All in the Details

    
CHAPTER THREE
  
Say a Little Prayer (That’s Right, I Said
Prayer!
)

STEP TWO
BELIEVE

       
CHAPTER FOUR
  
Time for Your Wake-up Call

        
CHAPTER FIVE
  
Forgive and Accept Responsibility

         
CHAPTER SIX
  
Get an Attitude Adjustment

     
CHAPTER SEVEN
  
Outer ’Tude

     
CHAPTER EIGHT
  
Stop Selling Yourself Short

STEP THREE
ACHIEVE

       
CHAPTER NINE
  
Hit the Books—Then the Deck

        
CHAPTER TEN
  
Get Organized

    
CHAPTER ELEVEN
  
Create the Right Environment

   
CHAPTER TWELVE
  
Master Communication

 
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  
Strengthen Willpower and Tame Emotions

CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  
Make It Happen: The Art of Conscious Choice-Making

Outro: When to Let Go, How to Stay Open

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

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

My business partner, Giancarlo Chersich—without 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 you’re 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 CAA—Kevin Huvane, Steve Lafferty, Alan Braun, and Lisa—for 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
.

INTRODUCTION

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

God that quote pisses me off.

Why? Because it’s true—but it shouldn’t be and doesn’t have to be.

There is absolutely no reason why you can’t live your dreams, no matter what they are; no reason you can’t live the life you’ve always wanted. Look, you have dreams for a reason. Call it your destiny, your karma, your life’s 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 can’t be reached, no dream that can’t be realized
. It’s just a matter of learning HOW to achieve what you want.

That’s what this book is: a how-to for wish fulfillment. Many self-help books tell you what to achieve, but they don’t 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. That’s not how it works, and you know it.

A lifetime’s 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 you’ll have all the tools you need to change your life—no 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 you’re thinking:
What’s Jillian Michaels doing writing a self-help book? She’s 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, that’s what fitness is to me—a tool I use to help you build a life. It’s
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. Don’t panic—we won’t 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
). It’s 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 isn’t about calorie counting or ab crunching; it’s 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 that’s where I come in. See, I don’t just hope you can do this—I
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 do—it’s just that some of us know it and some of us don’t.

Now, get ready, because it’s time to stop being quiet and desperate. Screw surviving—it’s time to THRIVE. Unlimited health, wealth, and happiness are just waiting for you to claim them.

I can’t promise you it’s going to be easy—think about it, nothing worthwhile ever is, is it? Achievement doesn’t 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
will
change dramatically, for the better.

So let’s dig deep, get our hands dirty, and do this.

T
his is one hell of a journey you’re beginning. In fact, it’ll probably be the most important, challenging, and rewarding thing you ever do. But as I’m sure you know, every journey, no matter how huge, begins with a single step. So what is that first step in taking control of your life and beginning to live the way you are meant to live? Simple. (Notice I didn’t say easy.) Your first step is to let your imagination run wild. To live the life of your dreams, you have to know what those dreams are.

So in Step One, I will teach you how to get a firm grip, mentally and emotionally—and yes, even spiritually—on what it is you want out of life. This is the fun part. This is where you get to kick aside any ideas that may have taken root about your life being set in stone on its current path, or about your not being worthy of a truly great life. The title of this step really says it all—this is where you get to imagine everything you have ever wanted your life to be.

CHAPTER ONE

IDENTIFY YOUR PASSION

(Or, What the Hell Do You Want to Do with Your Life?)

I
f you’ve picked up this book, chances are you’re looking for a change. You may feel like something is missing from your life, but you don’t know what it is. Or you may be stuck in a rut, waking up every morning wondering how you’re going to make it through another day.