Dani Spies

I was always attracted to people that were happy and confident and that seemed to have a direction in life.  They had what I wanted but I wasn’t quiet sure how to get it. Who was I and what did I love?

I ended up majoring in psychology; I was fascinated with the mind and people.  Why do people do and think what they do but more importantly why did I do and think what I did… I was really trying to understand myself.  

In the meanwhile I worked a few office jobs but never for long.  The idea of sitting at a desk all day was just not something I could stand.  So I spent the majority of twenties (remember I did not graduate college until I was 26) waiting tables, catering, bartending and being a nanny.  All the while trying to figure out what would I love to do (which ultimately led me to the question, “who am I”?).

Shortly after graduation I finally worked up the nerve to apply for a job at a gym, now this was a big deal for me because I had major body image issues and felt I was too “fat” to work at a gym but I did it anyway.  I wasn’t training. I was doing some sort of desk work (honestly don’t even remember what) but found that overall it was a great environment for me to be in because I was surrounded by others who were trying to make good choices for themselves. I met some really key people at that job that helped to open me up to bigger possibilities in life. I loved the experience but I did not like the job. One thing that I was quickly learning was that I did not like to work for other people trying to make their dreams come to fruition.  It was becoming clear that freedom was going to be another pre-requisite of my dream job.  I wanted to work on my own dreams and passions on my own time.

A few months into my gym job I decided to join my then boyfriend (now husband) in CA.  I was so excited to move, I honestly would have gone anywhere but was happy to know the destination was sunny California.  As soon as I arrived I began to think, “What am I going to do?” I knew I didn’t just want any old job.  I wanted to figure out my passion… what would I love to do?!

It was at this time that my husband said, “Dani all you ever do/talk about, read etc. has to do with food and fitness, so you either need to go to culinary school or study fitness.”  (Ah ha!  Why is always so much easier for someone else to see?)  Anyhow, due to the fact that I was still struggling with food/body image issues, culinary school was out of the question.  I guess you could say at that point, I was still a little scared of food so fitness it was!   While finishing a two-year part time program at UCLA Extension and becoming a certified fitness trainer I was also doing a lot of self-work trying to better understand myself as well as my personal struggles with food.  Once I began to loosen the reigns on my “food fear” I realized how much I would LOVE to work with food.  Hmmm, food and fitness… maybe I was starting to come close to my answer… what would I love to do?

As I began to do some training, I enrolled in a Professional Cooking Series here in California.  Class was only once a week but I learned a lot and also realized that I knew a lot.  Cooking for me is definitely the one thing that I can just do.  It’s easy and fun and never feels like work, even when I’m working.  I love to do it and I love to share what I know with others.  This still remains one of my favorite things to do (which is why I love making the videos and sharing recipes on this site).

As I began to work more with food (working as an assistant in cooking classes, teaching a few classes myself and doing some random catering gigs here and there) my husband and I began creating the videos and the danispies.com was about to be born.  But working with clients in fitness as well as trying to understand my own struggles with food/weight/diet etc., it was becoming clear to me that diet and exercise were not the end all be all to a happy, healthy abundant life. There was more to the puzzle, but what exactly was it and how would I tie it all together?!

That’s when I discovered and enrolled in a program called Integrative Nutrition in New York (and yes… by now all my friends were making fun of my inability to stop going to school!)  This is the program that really helped me tie all my passions together.  They taught me that a happy, healthy life is abundant in all areas, including food, activity, career, relationships, social life, and having a feeling of connectedness to something bigger than ourselves (a higher sense of purpose, if you will).  

This is when I really began to realize that my food and body issues were a physical manifestation of other challenging areas in my life.  I realized I needed to back off on trying to micro-manage my diet and put that energy into other arenas in my life.  As the pieces began to line up in other areas of my life (including my mind) my body would just follow.

What we do with this life and how much we enjoy it plays a huge role in our health and well being.  If you are eating broccoli and steamed chicken everyday while running five miles but you despise your boss or hate your job you’re no better off than the happy-go-lucky-guy that loves his life and eats McDonalds every day (FYI: stress is the #1 precursor to disease in America).  In order to create a healthy life you have to step back and look at the whole circle.

So am I finally doing what I love?  Yes and no.  

I think I finally understand what I love and what I am most passionate about and I also think that I have a foot in every arena of what I love.  I think I’m closer than I’ve ever been to loving what I do and now it’s just a matter of fine-tuning, figuring out an effortless way of intertwining all of the avenues that I love so much to create a well oiled machine that embodies all of these avenues.

I’m so grateful to have the opportunities to create the life I’ve always dreamed of and know that this process plays a huge part in my overall health and wellness.

So I ask you,"Are you doing what you love?"  Do you even know what you would love to do?  If so, what is it?  And if you’re not, what’s stopping you?   I try to remind myself everyday, that we expand what we focus on n this life.  So what are you focused on?