CANsultant...
Life Coach Focuses on Finding Balance
Maximizing Resources wants clients to experience total wellness
by Andrew Kirk, of THE Park Record Staff
As a certified physical trainer, Mary Jo Rehn (MJ) has heard a lot of excuses as to why people aren't in good shape. She realized that to help clients achieve their full potential she was going to need to help them manage their entire lives. Thus, she pursued certification as a Life Coach and started Maximizing Resources, a business dedicated to empowering people. "After all, the things that usually keep people from exercising or achieving any goal are time, money and energy. These are our life's resources, and resource management is needed to optimize our potential," she advises.
Ms. Rehn learned these lessons herself after having an acoustic neuroma tumor removed from her head about 30 years ago. Her inner ear was removed with the tumor significantly impacting her balance. Overcoming some of the challenges associated with the tumor inspired her to evaluate where she was putting her own resources. "Initially, I had to really focus to achieve balance in all dimensions of my life, " Ms. Rehn claims. "These life-enhancing solutions have enabled me to be a maximizer. To me the phrase 'Carpe Diem'(seize the moment) is a challenge."
Later in life when her “happily ever after” was crumbling, she was surprised when a doctor offered her Prozac. While recognizing there's a time and place for everything, she didn't picture herself as someone who needed it. "Besides, it wasn't in my budget," she claims. “Instead, I started thinking in terms of what am I doing right. In my research, I discovered that the Surgeon General's Report in 1996 recognized the benefits of exercise for some individuals who experience depression. I realized that my active lifestyle was a preventive resource. This inspired me to continue being physically active along with enhancing my commitment to other healthy habits."
"As I have continued my research," shares Ms. Rehn, "I have been fortunate to make several trips to the Mediterranean to observe and experience why the Mediterranean lifestyle, including the traditional diet, is touted as being healthy. I believe my own lifestyle and the services I offer have been enhanced because of these trips."
Fitness and wellness have been something she has been passionate about her entire life which began as a physical Iowa farm girl. She has a BS in Dietetics and Community Nutrition from Iowa State University and an MBA from the University of St. Thomas(St Paul, MN) where she researched the economic benefits of wellness programs. She jokes that the MBA stands for Maximizing, Balancing, and Actualizing.
One dimension of her business, Fanny Pack Fitness (www.fannypackfitness.com), is rooted in her experience as a physical trainer. This endeavor is about getting people to activate their lifestyle in ways that work for them. She carries around a fanny pack with several work-out "tools" (or should I say toys) that can be used just about anywhere as she strives to eliminate excuses for not being active. Rehn jokes that her sons grew up knowing she'd listen to reasons, not excuses- it made them think. In turn, clients need to think, be realistic. "I'm all about customizing- eliminating those excuses," she said. "I focus on what you can do. That's why my logo includes
Get Real."
To help clients find balance in their lives, she enjoys assisting them with removing clutter in all dimensions of their lives. She especially likes working with people who say they feel too busy or overcommitted. By clearing out blocks of time as well as physical spaces, she believes a person can recommit themselves to what's most important- what truly reflects their priorities and values. “The clock is our ‘circle of life,’” she says. “Think: is this really how I want to be spending my time, my resources?”
As for Rehn, that also means having room in her own life to indulge in new ventures that come along- to be an “optimistic opportunist.” She says, “I desire to live my life like when I’m hiking on a new trail- I just want to keep going to see what’s around the bend.”
Maximizing Resources wants clients to experience total wellness
by Andrew Kirk, of THE Park Record Staff
As a certified physical trainer, Mary Jo Rehn (MJ) has heard a lot of excuses as to why people aren't in good shape. She realized that to help clients achieve their full potential she was going to need to help them manage their entire lives. Thus, she pursued certification as a Life Coach and started Maximizing Resources, a business dedicated to empowering people. "After all, the things that usually keep people from exercising or achieving any goal are time, money and energy. These are our life's resources, and resource management is needed to optimize our potential," she advises.
Ms. Rehn learned these lessons herself after having an acoustic neuroma tumor removed from her head about 30 years ago. Her inner ear was removed with the tumor significantly impacting her balance. Overcoming some of the challenges associated with the tumor inspired her to evaluate where she was putting her own resources. "Initially, I had to really focus to achieve balance in all dimensions of my life, " Ms. Rehn claims. "These life-enhancing solutions have enabled me to be a maximizer. To me the phrase 'Carpe Diem'(seize the moment) is a challenge."
Later in life when her “happily ever after” was crumbling, she was surprised when a doctor offered her Prozac. While recognizing there's a time and place for everything, she didn't picture herself as someone who needed it. "Besides, it wasn't in my budget," she claims. “Instead, I started thinking in terms of what am I doing right. In my research, I discovered that the Surgeon General's Report in 1996 recognized the benefits of exercise for some individuals who experience depression. I realized that my active lifestyle was a preventive resource. This inspired me to continue being physically active along with enhancing my commitment to other healthy habits."
"As I have continued my research," shares Ms. Rehn, "I have been fortunate to make several trips to the Mediterranean to observe and experience why the Mediterranean lifestyle, including the traditional diet, is touted as being healthy. I believe my own lifestyle and the services I offer have been enhanced because of these trips."
Fitness and wellness have been something she has been passionate about her entire life which began as a physical Iowa farm girl. She has a BS in Dietetics and Community Nutrition from Iowa State University and an MBA from the University of St. Thomas(St Paul, MN) where she researched the economic benefits of wellness programs. She jokes that the MBA stands for Maximizing, Balancing, and Actualizing.
One dimension of her business, Fanny Pack Fitness (www.fannypackfitness.com), is rooted in her experience as a physical trainer. This endeavor is about getting people to activate their lifestyle in ways that work for them. She carries around a fanny pack with several work-out "tools" (or should I say toys) that can be used just about anywhere as she strives to eliminate excuses for not being active. Rehn jokes that her sons grew up knowing she'd listen to reasons, not excuses- it made them think. In turn, clients need to think, be realistic. "I'm all about customizing- eliminating those excuses," she said. "I focus on what you can do. That's why my logo includes
Get Real."
To help clients find balance in their lives, she enjoys assisting them with removing clutter in all dimensions of their lives. She especially likes working with people who say they feel too busy or overcommitted. By clearing out blocks of time as well as physical spaces, she believes a person can recommit themselves to what's most important- what truly reflects their priorities and values. “The clock is our ‘circle of life,’” she says. “Think: is this really how I want to be spending my time, my resources?”
As for Rehn, that also means having room in her own life to indulge in new ventures that come along- to be an “optimistic opportunist.” She says, “I desire to live my life like when I’m hiking on a new trail- I just want to keep going to see what’s around the bend.”
