Meet the CEO

Meet the CEO – A little bit about me and my family

It is important to me that I connect with the clients I help every day in my virtual health, fitness and coaching business. I know I say all the right things, preach only those activities that promote a healthy and fit lifestyle, and I sure do come across as someone who has endless energy and confidence.

But truth be told, I am a work in progress – just like you.

I don’t pretend to be something I’m not, which is why I am sharing this with you in this blog post. It’s important that you know the real me. I’m a wife and proud momma of three beautiful children and I struggle to keep up at times with game schedules, keeping the house tidy, running a business, taking care of myself and putting a healthy meal on the table each night for my family. I don’t always eat the best, and as much as I love to get up and workout, I absolutely despise my alarm clock some days.

I’ve battled depression, anxiety and Lord knows what else along the way. But I’ve always been a firm believer in five guiding principles – faith, family, fitness, fashion and fun. If I can impart those same principles to my amazing clients and help them lead a better life, then I am living a fulfilled life.

My family has been blessed enough to be featured in several articles over the last few years. We’ve used each article as a platform to help other families in unique ways. Below is an article that ran in the September 2016 issue of Lantana Living Magazine.

In the article, we talk about making time for what’s most important – family. Too many families out there don’t know how to make time, but it’s as simple as using a calendar!

Please read the article below.

The Nelsons: Making Time For What’s Most Important

Brett and Karma Nelson are as busy as they’ve ever been in their professional lives – Brett the owner of a  growing family law office in Flower Mound and Karma a successful health and fitness coach. So to say their calendars fill up quickly would be an understatement.

But this happily-married couple from Lantana will undoubtedly find a way to carve out quality time together, whether that be a quick night away for just the two of them, or a family dinner with their three children.

The Nelsons make time for what’s most important, which in this day and age feels like everything.

“Here’s the thing, we are all busy,” said Brett, who owns Nelson Law Group, P.C. “Our businesses are growing and our activities are increasing, but you can’t lose sight of the relationships that are important. In my practice, I see far too many people focus too much attention on everything but their marriage and families. If you don’t make these relationships a priority, you will have trouble in these areas.”

This is the season to send our children off to school, and while that is an exciting time, it can also be exhausting. After all, you’re re-acclimating your easy-going summer lives to packing wholesome lunches before the sun comes up, homework, constant adjustments to work schedules to compensate for the kids’ extracurricular activities, and of course, the dreaded early-morning drop off lines at school.

On top of all that, we have to find ways to keep growing our businesses in this fast-paced life.

Everyone here at Lantana Living felt Brett and Karma Nelson were the perfect September cover story because, well, they are in the middle of all that. They each juggle extremely popular and growing businesses while committing themselves to being the best possible spouse and parent they can be.

They’ve become known for offering quality advice on everything from marriage to faith and family. They insist they don’t have all the answers, but trust us when we say they typically come pretty close.

It begins, as the Nelsons tell us, with a calendar.

At least once each month, Brett and Karma sit down and compare their respective calendars. And we’re not talking about skimming the surface of proper scheduling, either. We’re talking about a total deep dive.

This includes cross checking Brett’s schedule to see which days he needs to be in court with the various things that Karma has going on, which can include training seminar trips or late coaching calls for her virtual health, fitness, and coaching business.

They’ll carve out time for a date night, and to make it all run as smooth as possible, Brett and Karma will get their children involved by divvying up responsibilities around the house. Speaking of the kids, the couple gets even more calculated and intentional with school and extracurricular activities. Those can actually be a beast in and of themselves.

They have three children, all in different schools and all with different responsibilities. Their daughter Lucy, 14, is a freshman at Guyer and needs someone to take her to school each day. She practices four and sometimes five times  per week with the Thundercats competitive cheer team  at Cheer Athletics in Plano.

Pierce, 12, is in the sixth grade at Harpool Middle School and is starting his first season of tackle football with the Lantana Wildcats. He also takes guitar lessons. Peyton, 9, is a third-grader and plays just about every sport, including football, baseball and basketball. He also takes drum lessons.

To keep up with it all and still have the wherewithal to adjust on the fly, the Nelsons chart everything from schedules to chores, church obligations, and other responsibilities. Everything has its place in the calendar, and it’s organized.

They’re very intentional, they’re extremely calculating, and they are almost always on top of their game.

“When you run a big family like we do, you have to stay on top of it or else it could break down into total chaos,” Karma said with a laugh. “Even if it’s just once a month, you have to prioritize. There’s been times where I haven’t been on top of it, and all it does is stress me out, which stresses the kids out because then they don’t know what’s going on, either. I try to prep the night before and go over the next day’s activities so everyone knows what to expect.”

Karma added, “But trust me, there are constant adjustments to our calendars.”

Is it really as simple as using a calendar? Productivity experts say absolutely. When done effectively, using a calendar helps you avoid taking on more than you can handle, add contingency time for the unexpected, have enough time for family and friends, exercise and hobbies, and achieve a good work-life balance.

For Brett, it’s that work-life balance that is the most important piece.

Sure, Nelson Law Group – which focuses on everything from family law to personal injury, civil litigation, estate planning, and small business legal needs – is a big part of Brett’s life. There were times in the past, he said where he would get up at 3:30 a.m. and stay at work all day – oftentimes not coming home until after 8 p.m. It can be easy to get caught up in chasing the mighty dollar, but all that did was put pressure and strain on his family.

“In the past, I would have been quick to get angry, say, ‘I don’t have time for this,’ and just rush off to what I felt was more important at work,” Brett said. “But this family is important.”

With a renewed mindset, he’s found he can put his family and God first while still making his clients happy.

Karma has had a similar mindset shift. Through partnering with BeachBody to start her own business, she has the opportunity to help busy mothers everywhere who need that extra push to realize their fitness goals and potential for a healthier lifestyle.

Karma, as you probably guessed by now, is a busy momma as well. She realizes all mothers need that extra push. You would think it all comes naturally for someone as fit as Karma, but like everyone else, it takes work and dedication. But she continues to find ways to always be there for her children first.

Perhaps that’s the biggest reason why she remains so successful.

The Nelsons have been married for 15 years, and as Brett puts it, Karma is the most attentive mother and caring wife he could ever hope to have.

“You have to honor that time with your family,” Karma said. “We cherish our two nights per week that everyone can sit down and eat dinner together.”

And it all circles back to scheduling.
“When you plan in advance, the expectations are clear for everyone – even us as parents,” Brett said. “There’s no stress on the relationship because everyone knows where everyone is supposed to be, what they are doing and when they can be in the mix to chip in. You have to be intentional, organized, disciplined, you have to have fun, you have to laugh, and you have to prioritize all of it. Everyone I’ve talked to has said that if you don’t do that in your daily life, you won’t do it at work.”
Karma and Brett juggle careers with the typical trials and tribulations that go along with any marriage. That’s quite a load, and it’s not hard to see why their calendar fills up so quickly. But they are committed to one another, and insist on beginning and ending each day with family time.

It’s the sort of balance every family could stand to have more of.

“I feel like I’ve been running my business all my life, and the principles I followed that provided me with a good career are equally applicable when it comes to my family,” Brett said. “It’s a lot of work, and our calendars fill up fast. But Karma and I are blessed to have the family we have.”

If you would like to read more great advice from my family, please visit the following links:

http://www.lantanaliving.com/brett-nelson-is-conscious-of-his-role-as-business-owner-husband-and-father/

 

As always, I am here to help with your Health, Fitness & Wellness goals!  Checkout our latest fitness & nutrition products today!