Family Recipe

It’s that time of year when everyone starts to break out the recipe books that have been passed throughout the family for generations.?

With Friendsgiving coming up as well as actual Thanksgiving. It got me thinking and it’s been a little while since I have written to you all.?

If you are new with us and have never received one of my emails. I used to send a little message to our managers every Sunday night.?

Being that we are in the Holiday Season, let’s start it off right with what some have termed “Heath Emails”.?

Ok, so back to family recipes. Whether you know it or not you have one. It doesn't have to be a specific food or recipe that you make. It’s the tradition of what you serve up on Thanksgiving.?

If you were a creepy person and knocked on ten doors either in your neighborhood or apartment complex on thanksgiving, walked in just to see what was on their table then left. Not only would you probably have the cops called on you. You would also find a variety of different types of foods on the table.?

You would see the traditional foods at first glance. But…. If you were able to stick a finger in the sweet potato casserole and grab a little taste from each one. You would find that they would all taste a little different.?

Why? Family recipes. It’s the secret sauce, crowd pleaser, the one you have to make extra of.?

When I first met Faith and was invited over for Thanksgiving, I was not ready for that experience. See, her family puts on a production. Everyone cooks for multiple days leading up to thanksgiving, while cooking for thanksgiving they are cooking dinner for that night as well.?

But then it happened….. stuffing balls. Stuffing balls? Yea yea you heard that right. I understand I had never heard of them before either. Oh, and by the way I used to never eat stuffing. Because of the carbs? Absolutely not! Because I thought it was gross stuffed up the Turkeys… well you know the.. anyways gross!?

Stuffing balls is a Brown family recipe. For those coming to Friendsgiving you will have a chance to experience these magical balls!?

I’m sure you are wondering at this point what’s in them? Well ... that's a secret and I’m pretty sure if I tell them I will end up in the middle of the ocean tied to an oil rig. If you didn’t know Faith's Dad could make that happen pretty quickly, confused ask me later.?

What I can tell you is that you all have a family recipe! You are proud of it, you love to show it off, and have everyone try it. You put it in the center of the table and build everything around it. Because you are proud of where it came from, it’s part of you!?

The thing with recipes is they require ingredients. Very specific ones, if not you wouldn’t be making the same recipe, it would be some other rip off version of the original and those are NEVER as good. You have to use the same ingredients, with the same amounts, and cook the exact way. If you follow those very specific directions, then you will have a perfect family recipe each time.?

Whether you knew it or not your studios are like these family recipes. Family recipes surprise and delight others. I for one LOVE stuffing now (you’ll see why). That recipe surprised me and I was delighted in how it tasted!?

Not only do family recipes surprise and delight, they are repeatable. Every year we have stuffing balls and they are just as good every year! I think I actually look forward to them more and more each year. It creates anticipation!?

Family recipes have specific ingredients and directions on how to mix, mash, and bake those ingredients to produce the end result. Stuffing balls have five ingredients, the same five for however many years the browns have been making them. They never change, except one year I decided to make HUGE softball size ones and we need more of those five, but there were still only five.?

Lastly, family recipes are the original version. I’m sure there have been many attempted rip off versions of stuffing balls. You know what the original will always be better? Because of the love and energy of the ones making it. When we make stuffing balls together, there is always laughing and excitement, and genuine joy. Why? Because we know that others will love it as much as we do!?

Ok…. So, I told you that your studios are like family recipes, right??

Let me break it down:

1. You have to surprise and delight your members on a regular basis. BUT.. WAIT! Not just your members, but your teams too! No matter how many times I eat stuffing balls it’s always a delight!

Ask yourself what have I done recently to surprise and delight those two groups of people coming to my dinner table (studio)?

2. Are you able to repeat these moments for each person? If you celebrate 100 classes for Joe, you better do it for Judy too! If you know 15 people are coming for Thanksgiving dinner don’t make enough stuffing balls for 10!?

Where have you been inconsistent with repeating those surprise and delight moments recently? Figure out a recipe you can repeat.

3. Do you give your team the ingredients on a regular basis to be successful with the recipe? If I went to Faith's house the first time and her Mom handed me a stuffing ball and said here, make 10 more of these. I would have had no idea where to start!?

Are you just handing your team the final end goal without them seeing the steps on how to get there? What ingredients have you been holding back from your team?

4. The original Heart Rate Based Interval boutique studio. There is and will only be one original. Ellen’s ultimate workout. That’s where it all started. NO ONE will love this product as much as Ellen, it’s hers. I will tell you this though even though I didn’t create stuffing balls I tell everyone about them with excitement and enthusiasm as if I did!?

Have you lost that spark? Ellen hasn’t, and she is at a disadvantage because she doesn’t get to see the full effect of what she brought to the market. But you do, you are seeing it every day, multiple times per day. You have to own that studio like it was yours, and until you do you will always feel like a stranger! More on this later!?

I hope if nothing else you are now excited for stuffing balls!?

Let’s have a great week everyone!