Sue Mosebar

Hello Friend,

I'm a planner. I admit it freely. I have lists here. Lists there. Long-term goals. Short-term goals. Even on weekends, there's a list of what I plan to accomplish, and I even include the fun stuff like movies and playing with my son.

But you know what? No matter how much you plan, how good you get at it, one thing is undeniable.

Things don't always go according to plan. In fact, now that I think about it, they often don't...

From the little hiccups, like my running partner (i.e., my dog) stopping to leave a deposit that I need to pick up during the sprinting portion of my morning run. To the medium issues, like watching my printer/fax/scanner go up in smoke in the middle of a work week. To the bigger issues, like my 18-year-old stepdaughter's wedding in two weeks, instead of her high school graduation.

And that's just this month.

Fortunately, last year, I learned an important lesson about the power of persistence, no matter how many roadblocks you experience or how far your plans go awry.

"If you have never experienced Eat-Smart, it is an absolutely delicious meal replacement that has been one of our most popular products."

My teacher—a product called Eat-Smart®.

If you have never experienced Eat-Smart, it is an absolutely delicious meal replacement that has been one of our most popular products. Almost everyone who tries it falls in love. Not only with the taste but for the second-to-none nutritional profile. And, of course, the taste! (Yes, it's worth repeating.)

But a little over a year ago, we had some "minor issues." At first, we thought they were the usual challenges of doing business that all companies experience. We didn't get our orders in our warehouse as expected. We were given excuses. Hey, things happen. But then the next deadline arrived, and we were all ready for our shipment. Which didn't arrive.

Now we had some explaining to do. To our disappointed, and at times, irate customers, who were waiting for their orders.

It's okay, we said. We'll just stick with the plan and get it on the next truck.

But it turns out. There was no truck.

It's a long and painful story, but we realized that we needed to find a new manufacturer. No problem, right?

Well, it turns out, there was a huge shortage of protein, and manufacturers weren't taking on new customers. I think that's when we really started losing sleep.

But then our luck finally turned. We found a good manufacturer to partner with. And we were ready to resume.

And that's when the real work began. Ensuring the formulas were just right. Taste test after taste test. Back and forth and on and on.

Fortunately, we did enjoy some great successes along the way. Our new manufacturer was awesome to work with. And when we got our first shipment of our original base Eat-Smart back in our warehouse, it was perfect. We celebrated!

Then in October, we had all four of our new flavors ready to go. In another month, we would have a warehouse full of Eat-Smart. We were finally back on track. High fives all around.

Well, we ran into a few more glitches. But then in December, we were done. Ready to pull out the Champaign.

Or... not. It turns out that packaging in our new bags, instead of the old tubs, added two weeks to the printing process. Yes, we were delayed again.

Did we go through these challenges because we didn't plan ahead?

No, we had plans. Contingency plans. And more contingency plans. We had deadlines to meet. Details to coordinate. And coordinate we did.

But as I said above, things don't always go as you planned. And with Eat-Smart, that seems like the understatement of the year. At times, we honestly wondered if we were somehow jinxed. How could such a terrific product have so many delays? Seriously!

Yet we had made a commitment, to our customers as well as to ourselves. You wanted Eat-Smart, and you told us so every day. So we kept planning and updating our plans and pushing forward.

While it took so much longer than we could have ever imagined, just last week, it arrived. All four new flavors of Eat-Smart.

They sure looked nice. The packaging turned out better than we had expected. We were hopeful but still a little skeptical...

Before we could start celebrating, we needed to get out the blender and start opening bags. Strawberry Cheesecake, Peanut Butter Cup, Chocolate, Chocolate Chip, and Double Vanilla Ice Cream. We tried every flavor and then tried them all again. And a curious thing started happening. The year-long tension started melting. People were smiling. Laughing. Giddy is the only word I can use to describe the feeling in the room.

"How can it be better? It's better than before!" "I can't wait for my next one!" "Ahhh... This is so good..." were comments going through our kitchen.

"...things don't always go as you planned. And with Eat-Smart, that seems like the understatement of the year. At times, we honestly wondered if we were somehow jinxed. How could such a terrific product have so many delays?"

We had done it. We had climbed the mountain and reached the peak and then made it back home safely.

All because, while things didn't go as we had planned, we stuck to it and stayed committed. We knew the end goal and we climbed over, pushed through, and went around dozens of obstacles to get there.

There were times when we were certainly disheartened. I'd be lying if I said we remained completely positive throughout all the trials. But we never stopped. We kept moving and pushing forward.

After all of this, I'm not going to stop planning. Because honestly, I wouldn't know where to even start tomorrow without a plan. There's just too much to do, and it's too easy to get lost in the day without a plan.

But there's something much more important to remember, at least for me, in any challenging endeavor. Commitment. At the core, you need to ensure you're committed to the goal. And then, no matter how much plans go awry, and they will, you absolutely, positively will reach your destination.

Whether that's losing those last 10 lbs or the first 25 or gaining solid muscle mass and strength. Doing 20 pull ups or adding another mile to your run. Building your best body or building your dream life. Stay committed. Keep trying. Overcome obstacles. It's as simple as that—though goodness knows, it's not always easy!

Here's to you,

Sue Mosebar
Executive Editor, Real Solutions
Marketing Manager, iSatori

P.S. What challenges have you faced in the last year that have taught you a meaningful lesson? Have you also overcome obstacles? We want to hear your story! So jump on our Message Board at RealSolutionsmag.com and share them with our passionate, friendly online community.

P.S.S. Want give your taste buds a treat while you nourish your body? Call us at 1-866-688-7679 to find out how you can try Eat-Smart, Free (this month only).

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