Ashley Johns

The Beauty of Motivation

Click on the link above to watch the most motivational video you'll ever see. 

One of the biggest challenges in living this lifestyle day after day is finding the motivation to continue moving forward.  Let's face it, it is HARD.  Life is HARD.  I have found it is the most challenging experiences that are the most rewarding.  Period.

So you want to know what motivates me?  Words, other people working their butt off, this video.  Watch it and listen to everything.  It applies to anything in life, not just working out or preparing for a Bodybuilding contest.  

"Life is this game of inches, one half a step too lat eor too early and you don't quite make it.  The inches we need are everywhere around us, in every minute and every second.  We fight for that inch.  We tear ourselves and everyone else around us to pieces for that inch.  We claw with our fingernails for that inch, because we know when we add up all those inches, that's going to make the #Fin' difference between winnin' and losin'.  Between livin' and dyin'.  I'll tell you this, in any fight, it's the guy who's willin to die who's gonna win that inch."    This is from a great movie with Al Pacino.  Any Given Sunday. 

I get goosebumps from these words and THIS, my friends, is what this is all about.   This is what LIFE is all about.  You want something?  If you want it bad enough, you're going to find everything within yourself to go out and get it and do whatever it takes to get it.  So ask yourself, what do you have to do to get what you want? 

This weekend, I went to see "The Fighter."  What I loved most about this movie was that it was about a kid who had always been backseat in the family.  He never shined growing up, but he had tons of heart.

For most of the movie, he was just an average fighter, winning here and there, but mostly losing until he finally got some amazing training and trained hard until he could train no more each day.  He wanted so bad to earn his right by fighting a good fight.  He finally got his opportunity after training for months.  He had been training his entire life.  He got beat on for most of the fight.  Everyone knew he'd lose.  I can't tell the rest in case anyone is wanting to see it, but I will say that I sat there thinking, you know, usually you want to watch a character who is at the top of his game and winning, but I sat there loving how they showed this "real" character working his way up through the journey of sweat and hard work.  That is real life.  There is always a progression of success.   Usually people work hard and hard until they think that maybe something won't happen, but it is in this moment that true strength is shown when someone sticks with it.  They later get an opportunity that changes the entire course of their life, because they decided in that moment to move forward, even though they may not have everything they thought they should have from working that hard up until that point.   It is not about the destination, but about the journey.  We all have to start somewhere.  You look up to these superstars, whether it's in the fitness industry, a movie star, an athlete or your parents;  these people all have been in the same shoes we have been in, they all started somewhere!  It's what they did with the shoes they were in that got them to where they are now.

Go see this movie.  It is beautiful acting and a true story of personal growth. 

I'm running towards Fitness Modeling.  It's my passion, ever since I was standing in Idaho being photographed by legend Photographer, Andy Anderson.  I had this feeling come over me that is sort of indescribable.  I just knew this is where I was supposed to be, and this is what I'm supposed to go after, because I felt it in my bones that it was right and I loved every minute of it! 

I decided to change my name because I think it's important to market yourself well.  "Schutz," my former last name, has always been a pronunciation and spelling issue, all growing up.  I want people to remember my name and I also believe in the philosophy of K.I.S.S.   "Keep it simple stupid"  minus the stupid.  Never really understood why that was in there, just to spell out the word Kiss?.

I have signed up for Fitness Model International in April, 2011.  I will fly into Scottsdale and attend the seminar for 2 days, which includes "How to become a Fitness Model"(or actor, anything in branding yourself as a name) seminar, do 2 photo shoots then head to Los Angeles to shoot with Photographer Laurent Weber.  I will spend a week there as then I will shoot with Mike Byerly. 

I am working on my body on a daily basis and realize that this all takes patience and time and tons of hard work and experimenting to find just the right combination of exercise and diet to shape your body up to where you really want it to be.  Let me tell you, this has been the hardest part of my weight journey, to get super lean and maintain that.  It's tough work and I immensely respect anyone with a 6 pack, that shows they don't eat sweets, they work their butts off in the gym and are always on the ball with their fitness and health.  They take it seriously and WANT IT.  You don't just have a 6 pack by eating sweets and exercising sometimes.  It's a constant effort of work.

I realize genetics play a role in your body shape as well.  The norm for beauty is a narrow waist, long legs, a beautiful face (that's a whole other definition of beauty)(but in the fitness industry, it's mostly about your body and your personality, the vibe you bring and what you leave behind with the industry---your personality!), being lean, a chest proportionate to your body, which means larger, not small and a narrow waist.  Did I already say narrow waist?  I have realized what my strengths are and what I need to work on, but sometimes you can only go so far and just have what you have.  I don't have a narrow waist, my bones (hip bones and ribs are wider than narrow) so I have that against me, and with body fat loss, I have a small chest now.  I have most of my muscle development in my legs that is easiest to build and maintain, but my upper body is a project on a daily basis.  My mid section....it's tough to get it to little body fat.  I notice if I ever get bloated or have a cheat meal once in a while, it shows up right in the middle. 

So what have I decided based on these facts?  I have decided to not let anything stand in my way, whether that be a small chest, a wider waist....I have to do everything I can do to enhance my strengths and build on my weaknesses.  Sure, one day I would love to have a more womanly chest, but that's for me, not for anyone else.  Sure, I would have loved to have a smaller waist naturally but I have to work at that, and that's ok.  My point....we all have strengths and we all have weaknesses, no one is perfect.  It's the imperfections that make us different and individual.  We all have so many pieces that make up our individual puzzle.  No matter WHAT industry you are running after, you must realize what you do have and never stop running towards your dreams.  I won't. 

I put this text on top of this picture of me.  It all starts here.  Then it's up to YOU to decide how hard you will work and how far you will run to get what you want.  My choice?....I won't stop until I get what I want. 

My Lift Life Ad, appearing in Shape Magazine on page 99 beginning in January, 2011.

I spent 3 days in Idaho working with Bodybuilding.com, Fitness Models Jamie Eason & Parker Cote and many, many others!  I had an amazing time; the time of my life.  I will be spending much more time with this team in 2011, and I can't wait!