You CAN do it

[Guest guest]

This is repost from another BFL board that I made, but I think it

drives home and to the point. I know a few have restarted challenges

due to colds, etc. That is fine ... recharge and forge ahead.

However, in the future, focus on finishing no matter what, even if

you are out for a week or two. In this program, it is about forming

habits for life, not just 12 weeks. Colds happen. People get sick.

Work picks up and forces us into overtime, we lose energy, miss

workouts. Those are all parts of life and parts of challenge. If you

keep searching for the " perfect " challenge, you'll never finish a

single one, because all challenges are 3 months of your LIFE and

things are always happening! So focus on PROGRESS not perfection.

Okay, here is the post ...

I know that many people are surging forward with their New Year's

resolutions. And many people, unfortunately, will not complete them.

Don't be one of those!

It is a disturbing statistic: during the year 2000, over 750,000

(that's 3/4 of a million) enthusiastic participants jumped into the

BFL fray to wield their power at transformation. By the end of the

year, a mere 6% (a little over 1 out of 20) actually turned in their

packets.

Think about that for a second.

So many people are eager to have the " perfect " challenge. If they

skip a workout or get sick or flip out on a nutrition spree, they

either quit or " start over. " WHAT IS UP WITH THAT? There is no

starting over. Health is not an on/off switch that we can simply toy

with! No, it is much less fickle. It is a commitment, a self-

empowerment.

So many are consumed with SUCCESS but they FAIL to recognize that

true SUCCESS comes from overcoming FEAR OF FAILURE. Many of the most

successful people, in business, BFL, or otherwise, had to fail many

times in order to ultimately succeed. It was overcoming the fear of

failure that allowed them to propel themselves forward to the

ultimate prize: control of their very lives!

Again, let's consider this for a moment. The general tendency is to

skip out of a challenge when something goes awry. But, folks, that is

LIFE! Things happen. Accidents happen. Unexpected business trips are

imposed upon you by your employer, or a virus strikes without warning

and renders your workouts non-existant for a short period of time. No

one has a perfect 84 days! That's right. If you are looking at the

former BFL champions thinking, WOW, they did a perfect 84 days ...

you are WRONG!

Granted, some might have never missed a training session or deviated

from their planned nutrition. But I can guarantee for each and every

one of them, LIFE HAPPENED. I have been blessed with meeting many of

the former champions: Hank " Harry " , Jr, , Drew

Avery, Porter Freeman, and Jeff Seidman to name a few. During an

incredible charity event in ville, Indiana, I also met 8 of the

2000 " Top 2000 Finishers " from that year ... coincidence? I don't

think so. I think we crossed paths because our hearts were in the

same place. I found people doing different styles of training, taking

their own spins on free and even following different combinations of

supplements.

So what did the champions have in common? Persistence. Consistency.

Desire. Drive. Passion. Empowerment. Confidence. Faith. Belief in

themselves.

That is the key. They were willing to move forward, regardless of

what obstacles were placed in their way. I can guarantee you that

they did not keep stopping and restarting challenges until they had

the perfect one. They forged ahead.

Let me put it to you a different way. Have you ever been given the

opportunity to be not in the top 10%, but the top SIX percent, to

receive a reward: a certificate, to be recognized, and to rise above

hundreds of thousands of others, for simply your EFFORT?

With BFL, you have that chance. You see, all you have to do is make a

commitment to FINISH what you START. That's it. It's not about

dropping 3 pounds of fat per week or slashing your body fat in half

or gaining more muscles than you can find in a can of spinach. It is

about commitment and perserverence. If you can simply commit yourself

to FINISH what you START - to honor your self-promises, to move

forward no matter what, you WILL succeed and you WILL achieve the

high honor of being in the top, elite percentage of people who are

recognized not because they lost a tremendous amount of weight or

managed to double their bench press, but simply because they

FINISHED.

Are you a quitter? Or a WINNER? I think you are a winner, but it is

oh-so-easy to make those excuses to quit.

So let's focus on the finish line. Let's focus on the journey and not

just the destination, enjoy each day, savor each moment as we conquer

our own self-limiting views and overcome barriers in order to gain

our freedom. Freedom to live healthy. Freedom to take charge of our

own lives, to live on our own terms, to eat what our body needs

rather than what some overpaid ad executive slapping together a few

flashy scripts wants to program our minds to crave.

Are you with me? DO IT TO IT. Live. Experience. Achieve. Dream and

empower yourself.

Not sure where to begin? BFL is a fine book. You can also read an

article I wrote specifically for people confused about where to

start - it is called 10 fat mistakes:

http://www.dolfzine.com/page694.htm

Finally, don't underestimate the power of goal setting. Learn how to

set goals, and print off the goal setting worksheet available here:

http://www.coolkidscorner.com/jeremy/howto.html

Take care and God bless!

Likness