A SETBACK

IS A SETUP
FOR A
Comeback
GET COMFORTABLE
BEING
UNCOMFORTABLE
 A SETBACK IS A SETUP
FOR A Comeback
GET COMFORTABLE BEING UNCOMFORTABLE

If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again. I am tenacious to say the least when
it comes to things that I want in my life. Oh, I get knocked down, I’ve been knocked
down plenty. I just refuse to stay there. I knew I wanted to live in California since I
was a kid, when I say kid, I mean 6 or 7 years old. I would always talk about being
an actress or a dancer. I would say, “When I grow up, I’m moving to Hollywood!” I
think my family thought it was a phase, it wasn’t a phase, it was a dream. A big,
beautiful, scary dream that seemed out of reach for a little girl growing up in the
suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio. But as I grew up, I held on to this dream, in fact it only
grew stronger.

At 16 I moved from Ohio to Saint Louis to live with my mom. Let me give you
the rundown of where I’ve lived in my life, really quickly. Birth to fifteen, I lived in
Cleveland Ohio with my dad. Right before my 16th birthday, I moved to St. Louis to
live with my mom. Second semester of my senior year my step dad got transferred
from STL to New Jersey. I graduated high school living in a state I didn’t want to
be in, at a school where I didn’t know anyone and without any real friends. After
high school, I moved back to Saint Louis to attend college. I was there for two
years (lots of interesting stories about college and what I went through in my book,
Lose Weight Like Crazy Even If You Have a Crazy Life), then I took a semester
off to participate in the Walt Disney World College program in Orlando, Florida. I
returned to St. Louis with the hopes of graduating college, but due to a whole lot
more craziness, I didn’t finish school. I left with a semester to go broken and beaten
down, but it was ok because that dream I had been dreaming my whole life was
finally about to come true. I was moving to HOLLYWOOD!

Well, sort of. My mom was living in California at the time. She was in one of the
beach cities about an hour and a half from Hollywood. That was a heck of a lot
closer than Missouri, so I packed my one bedroom apartment into the back of my
Honda Civic and started the three-day drive from Missouri to California. I was on
cloud nine, Cali Baby, here I come! The drive was long and exhausting--thank god
for Britney Spears, Nsync and Jlo to get me through--but I finally made it. I was
going to live with my mom while I got on my feet and found a place of my own.
I got a job waiting tables at a local restaurant and started looking for auditions
and castings. I didn’t realize just how far away from Hollywood my mom’s house
was, until I actually got there. I didn’t know about LA traffic and that, even though
Hollywood was about an hour and a half away, mileage-wise, with traffic it could be
three hours or more! I was working hard to save money, but the restaurant wasn’t
the best, so the tips weren’t great, and let’s be honest, California is a lot more
expensive than Missouri.

After a month on the west coast, my mom and I weren’t getting along. It was
making living in her home very challenging. One day I came home from work early,
sick beyond belief. I was in bed with a fever, the chills and body aches. My mom
came in my room, mad that I wasn’t at work, and an argument ensued. I had had
enough; this living arrangement wasn’t going to work. I was frustrated at how far
away from Hollywood I still was, after how far I’d come to be there. So, feeling
defeated, I packed my Civic, and with absolutely no warning to anyone, I headed
back to Saint Louis. I felt like a total failure. I hadn’t even made it two months.

I moved in with one of my roommates from college. I was happy to be back around
friends, but my dream for the glitz and glam, the palm trees and ocean breezes was
still calling me. So, I vowed to work my ass off for a year and then go back. I got a
job waiting tables at a good restaurant, and every penny that wasn’t going to rent
was going into my savings account for my return. I would be more prepared this
next time. I knew how much money I needed to make the move back and get my
own place much closer to Hollywood. I worked day and night, double shifts and
weekends. The year flew by, and before I knew it, the date I had set was here. This
time I was much better prepared. I would be transferring to the same restaurant
chain in LA, so I already had a job. One of my friends was making the drive with me
AND, BONUS, my older brother Bobby was living in California! He was much closer
to Hollywood, living in a city named Van Nuys. So, once again I packed the Honda
and made the three-day drive back to California.

My brother and his friend took me around to look at apartments and show me the
area. Van Nuys is NOT the beautiful beach town that my mom lived in, and it sure
wasn’t Saint Louis, Missouri. I kept asking Bobby if it was a safe neighborhood. It
was a culture shock for this Midwest girl, for sure, but I was so happy to be back. I
rented a studio apartment in a 10 unit building that was just two buildings over from
where my brother lived. I was so happy to have him living so close. I settled in and
began to build my new life. For ten years I built my life in LA, switching careers
three times. I made new friends, got married, had a baby, and right at the height of
life going well in California, my husband got transferred to Texas for his job. What
happened with that move and how I made my way back to Los Angeles for the third
and final time is in my book.

It’s a CRAZY story, I promise you that. It took me three tries before I finally, finally,
truly settled into my life here in Los Angeles, and it was after my third and final
return that I truly found my way and my success. I could have quit at any point. I
could have easily stayed in Saint Louis, I had lived there for eight years, I had tons of
friends, the cost of living was low in comparison, but it wasn’t the end goal. It wasn’t
the dream. If I didn’t keep trying, I would be settling. One of the biggest lessons
I’ve learned from my crazy travels is to never stop trying. If there is something you
want, go after it, no matter how many times you get knocked down, or take two
steps forward only to go three steps back. Try and try again, and each time refine
the plan, because a goal without a plan is just a wish.

The first time I moved to California, the only plan I had was that I was going to make
the drive in three days, live with my mom while I saved money and figure the rest
out as I went. That wasn’t a strong enough plan to take on something as big as a
move across the country. The second time I went back, I had my ducks in a row, I
saved enough money for a deposit plus first and last month’s rent, I secured a job
before I ever got there, so there was no laps in money, and I had my big brother
to show me around and help me find a place to live. The third time I came back to
California there was a whole new level of determination in me. The plan was to get
back and NEVER leave again. I talk more about my final return and what that lesson
taught me in my book, but for now, it’s your turn.
 A SETBACK IS A SETUP
FOR A Comeback
GET COMFORTABLE BEING UNCOMFORTABLE

WHAT IS YOUR DREAM/GOAL?

HAVE YOU ATTEMPTED TO REACH THIS GOAL IN THE PAST? YES | NO

IF SO, BUT YOU FELL SHORT OF ACHIEVING IT, WHAT STOPPED YOU?

WHAT DID THIS TEACH YOU?

WHAT MINDSET SHIFT DO YOU NEED TO MAKE TO TAKE ON YOUR GOAL WITH A
POSITIVE ATTITUDE?

WHAT ARE 3 THINGS YOU CAN DO RIGHT NOW TO START WORKING TOWARD YOUR
GOAL?

1.

2.

3.
About Autumn Calabrese
Beachbody® Super Trainer and nutrition expert Autumn Calabrese is the creator of the breakthrough
fitness programs 21 Day Fix®, 21 Day Fix EXTREME®, 80 Day Obsession®, and others, and the portion-
control weight-loss system Ultimate Portion Fix®. She’s also the author of the best-selling FIXATE®
cookbooks, which have sold over 500,000 copies, and the host of the FIXATE healthy cooking
show on Beachbody On Demand. Autumn is a certified holistic health coach through the Institute
of Integrative Nutrition and has held certifications from the National Academy of Sports Medicine
(NASM), as well as the American Fitness Professionals & Associates (AFPA).

LOSE
,
bs en
C ar d Ev
joy an s!
En tails sert
ck es
Co D

WEIGHTY
LIKE CRAZ
Even if You Have
A Crazy Life!
AUTUMN CALABRESE
Fitness & Nutrition Expert,
Creator of Beachbody’s 21-Day Fix

Life Lessons and a Breakthrough

30-Day Nutrition and Fitness Solution!

Coming later this summer, Super Trainer Autumn Calabrese is dropping her latest book: Lose Weight
Like Crazy Even If You Have a Crazy Life! You can lose weight like crazy, and you can achieve
anything! Autumn Calabrese shares the revolutionary step-by-step approach to lose weight that
made her one of the top fitness and nutrition celebrities in the world. No cutting corners and no BS:
In this book she reveals the personal struggles that shaped her approach to overcome excuses that
led to this 30-day plan to succeed at weight loss, and life!

Pre-Order the Book at https://autumncalabrese.com/book/