You may know fitness instructor and motivator Shaun T from his many popular workout routines. His new book, T is For Transformation: Unleash the 7 Superpowers to Help You Dig Deeper, Feel Stronger & Live Your Best Life, goes beyond calorie-burning moves and weight-loss pep talks, and focuses on mental fitness.
“The most important thing is your mind, and that’s a muscle you can build just like any other,” writes Shaun. In this equal parts memoir and self-help book, Shaun reveals obstacles he has overcome while also offering advice and activities for his readers.
The book, available on November 7 from Rodale, has a conversational tone. Shaun’s writing is casual, genuine and inspirational as he reveals deeply personal details about his life. As Shaun’s metamorphosis takes place in the book, he guides readers through their own journey.
Shaun was born in Camden and raised in West Philadelphia and Deptford with his older brother, mother and mother’s boyfriend, who Shaun refers to as the “step monster.” For four years during his childhood, he was sexually abused by the step monster. Eventually, he moved in with his grandparents and escaped that nightmare.
“I promise you: Unless you are able to look your former self in the eye, comfort your younger self, and once and for all accept that chapter in the past, you will keep living in the pain everyday. The deeper it’s buried, the more urgently it needs to rise up to the surface and be acknowledged and understood,” he writes.
As a teenager and college student at Rowan University, he struggled with accepting his homosexuality and weight gain—the “freshman 50.” The first hip-hop aerobics class he taught at Rowan helped launch his fitness career, weight loss journey and life transformation.
“People see me today, smiling on Facebook or leading a workout, and they’re thinking, this is easy for him. I’m here to tell you, nothing was easy about getting Shaun T where he is today, and it still ain’t easy,” he writes.
You can’t control other peoples actions but you CAN control yours! #Truthbomb pic.twitter.com/bh8rZgh7XX
— Shaun T (@ShaunT) September 25, 2017
Between his fitness programs (Insanity, Cize, Focus T25, Hip Hop Abs, Rockin’ Body), live workout events and Trust and Believe podcast, Shaun has come a long way.
Focusing on inner change and viewing himself as a person in progress is how he transformed his life. T is For Transformation, is a guide for people enduring any type of hardship. Shaun asks readers to evaluate their lives and he offers a plan of action.
Here’s a glimpse of what his book has to offer:
Shaun drops “truthbombs,” or motivational proverbs, throughout the chapters, including:
- “Stay a victim, and you grant power to the person who victimized you.”
- “Either you accept your life as it is, or you accept your responsibility to change it.”
- “You’re imprisoned by what you hide, because that means you haven’t accepted it. Honesty frees you to be you.”
He poses questions such as:
- Who are my true pillars of support, and who is ready to tear me down if I step out of line?
- Whose path should I follow, and who is ready to lead me someplace that I don’t want to go?
- Who’s a positive example and who’s a negative one?
Shaun’s rules for living, or the “Ten TransformaShaun Commandments,” include:
- “Thou shalt not expect perfection”
- “Thou shalt carefully recruit thy posse”
- “Thou shalt honor thy passions”
And what about these superpowers mentioned in the title? They are seven characteristics that help you survive the hard times.
- Uncomfortability: “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone. And that’s fine, if you’re willing to plan for and take smart risks.”
- Full out-edness: “Here’s your force multiplier—the enthusiasm, excitement, and commitment you put into every plan that can drive you forward.”
- Creativity: “You can find (or make!) the tools you need to cut your way out of personal traps, and you can identify helping hands that can lift you up.”
- Flexibility: “You can swerve through the twists and turns, and accelerate through changes to reach for the life you really want.”
- Selfishness: “That’s right. Shaun T is giving you permission to be the center of your universe, but in a good way.”
- Feelin’ it: “You identify your passions and feel them all the way, because that’s ultimately what determines success.”
- Bananas: “When you’re pushing your life forward, there are bound to be surprises, disappointments, eye-openers, and other WTF comments. Plan for them, accept them, enjoy them, learn from them, and move forward because of them.”
Just like his workouts, this guide will push you to make changes that are difficult but rewarding.
“Here’s what I want: for you to identify what’s actually important to you, to find a way to achieve that, and to make your fans an authentic part of who you are. That kind of growth and progress will last the rest of your life, and nobody can ever take it away.”