The Lifestyle Journey™
Program was created by Steve Coons and Kevin
Murdoch in response to what we saw as a need
to help parents and young people make healthier
choices when it comes to eating and physical
activity.
As parents ourselves, with
three kids each, we know first-hand the pressures
and stresses that many families must deal with
just to get through each day, let alone worry
about eating healthier and making balanced lifestyle
choices.
We designed the program with
young people and parents in mind.
We wanted to "tap into" the belief
that each young person has an innate and instinctive
desire to be healthy and well. However, because
of the highly demanding, time-crunched world
we live in, there just isn't the time, or the
energy sometimes, to seek the best choices.
But we also believe that there's
a healthy balance for everyone!
The Lifestyle Journey™
Program is designed to empower young people
to make their own healthy choices. It is written
at a level they will understand and relate to.
It gets the message about healthy choices and
the information about nutrition and physical
activity across in a common-sense way, with
an emphasis on "back-to-basics."
It also focuses on not only
increasing a young person's knowledge about
nutrition and physical activity, but it also
provides them with interactive tools they can
use to make healthier choices right away and
transform their own habits.
We formed Ideas For People
in 1999 with the goal to help as many young
people and their families as possible by creating
value-added resources directed at helping people
live healthier and reach greater heights of
personal growth.
The Lifestyle Journey™
Program is the first of a series of program
and tools we are planning on bringing to you.
It has been our goal from the
start to create "a wave" - a movement
that sees young people transform their lives
and realize their own greatest potential. And,
at the foundation of all of this, is the ability
to make healthy choices.
We are striving to make a difference...
One day a man was walking
along the beach when he noticed a figure
in the distance. As he got closer, he
realized the figure was that of a boy
picking something up and gently throwing
it into the ocean.
Approaching the boy, he asked, "What
are you doing?"
The youth replied, "Throwing a
starfish into the ocean. The sun is
up and the tide is going out. If I don't
throw them back, they'll die."
"Son," the man said, "don't
you realize there are miles and miles
of beach and hundreds of starfish? You
can't possibly make a difference!"
After listening politely,
the boy bent down, picked up another
starfish, and threw it into the surf.
Then, smiling at the man, he said, "I
made a difference for that one."
- Adapted from "The Star Thrower"
by Loren Eisely
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Founders' Background - Kevin Murdoch
A father of three, Kevin is
a Vice-President and Investment Advisor (F.C.S.I.)
with RBC Dominion Securities. As a busy advisor
to hundreds of clients, Kevin has drawn on a
wealth of personal experience and entrepreneurial
expertise to help create many of the practical
tools and processes in The Lifestyle Journey
Program. Besides his "day job" as
a financial advisor and manager, Kevin is also
past chair of the Southhlake Regional Hospital
Foundation and a 10-year member of The Strategic
Coach, an ongoing program helping entrepreneurs
be the best they can be.
Kevin is a dedicated runner, with many 10k races
and the Big Sur Marathon under his belt.
Founders' Background - Steve Coons
A father of three, Steve is
a kinesiologist (Honours B.Sc. Human Kinetics)
and personal trainer operating his own business.
Steve has used his knowledge and experience
in working with a wide variety of people to
become healthier and fit, to help create The
Lifestyle Journey Program.
Steve is a veteran mountain biker and has also
completed many 10k races, half-marathons as
well as the Big Sur Marathon and several adventure
races.
A Special Message from the authors
In creating The Lifestyle Journey™
Program, we focused on a back-to-basics approach,
which combines common-sense information about
healthy eating and physical activity with our
own experiences as to what works and doesn't
work, both as parents, and as successful entrepreneurs.
However, as confident as we are in The Lifestyle
Journey™ Program's ability to help young
people make healthier choices, we have also
gone to great lengths to have the program reviewed
and critiqued by a wide variety of health and
wellness professionals from the following organizations:
