I would hear the grunting and moaning early in the morning.  I could hear the clinking and clanking of dumbbells being thrown all around the house.  I always loved my sleep so I just pulled the blanket over my head and went back to bed.  Who was making all that racket?  It was my dad.  He would get up early every single day to exercise no matter what was going on or where we were living at the time (we moved a lot).  Nothing ever came before his workouts.  And I mean nothing!  He taught me the importance of putting my body and my dreams at the top of my priority list.  Until he became ill a few years ago, he was still sporting a ripped and muscular physique even in his 60s.  My dad taught me that my body was something to value and hold in high esteem--inside and out.  How about you?  Do you value your body and dreams?

The illustration above depicts two very different pictures.  In one picture we have Play-Doh.  You remember that stuff, right?  That's the moldable clay you played with as a kid.   It eventually dried up and little pieces of it got caught up in the fabric of the carpet.  My mom loved me for that.  What's the value of Play-Doh?  It's worth a couple of dollars but costs pennies to make.  What is the value of a Picasso painting?  Millions!

Let me ask you a question.  Don't you think your body, life and dreams are worth more than the paintings of a dead man?

I don't really care what people think of Picasso and his paintings.  Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  Personally, I love them and I admire his work.  He left all of us pieces of his heart and his passion.  But, I can tell you this from the bottom of my heart: I think YOUR life is far more valuable than the greatest of Picasso's works. 

Do you see it that way?  Do you live that way?  Do you train and eat that way?  Sadly, many are living their lives with the belief that their bodies and goals are worth nothing more than a useless piece of Play-Doh.  When all is said and done, all that will be left behind are the endless cries of, "I would have if...I could have if...I should have but...I wanted to but...". 

We don't want to blame ourselves for our short-comings and fallen dreams.  It's much easier to come up with excuses and blame others.  But guess what...when you pass away and leave this earth, no excuse in the world will matter.  People will only remember you by your LEGACY and not by the excuses you left behind. 

Here's the incredible good news.  If you're reading this today, it's not too late to put your body, health and dreams first in your life.  

Frustrations and past failures can make it seem impossible, but it's not. 

With the consent of one of my clients, I want to share the testimony below.  She asked that I change her name to protect her identity.  Please read her words.  Her letter to me made me very emotional.  Honestly, I cried.  I have cut out most of it and changed her name.  You will understand why when you read it.

"Tony, I want to thank you for helping me and giving me back my life.  I came to you with the desire to change my body and look sexy.  All of that almost seems funny now.  It seems funny because I needed much more than a new body when I first started your program.  As you know, I'm recovering alcoholic and drug addict.  What you don't know is that I became an alcoholic and drug user because of the sexual abuse of my past.  It shaped my identity.  It destroyed my self-esteem.  It crushed the woman I thought I would ever become.  Even my husband and children never really knew who I was.  He thought he knew me but he didn't.  I lived the first 35 years of my life as a shell of a woman.  I saw myself as nothing and my life as less than that.  Do you know that I would sit in a house filled with friends and just stare into the distance with a blank look on my face.  Friends would joke and tell me to wake up.  They never knew that deep down inside I told myself I would never wake up from the nightmare that was my life.  The pain and disgust of my past made me hate my body and hate my goals and dreams even more.  It wasn't until I got to know you and you asked me what my kids would one day think of my legacy that got me thinking. It was that one simple question that changed my life and kept me up many sleepless nights.  You challenged me to see my life as a beautiful story and not a tragedy with a sad ending as you put it.  The word legacy was just a word to me.  Not anymore!!! Thank you Tony for giving me back my body and my life.  God bless you T!"   --Love always, Mary Donovan

You see, we all struggle with the pain and hurt of the past.  We can all sometimes see our life as being less valuable than it really is or can be.  Recently at a New York museum, a Picasso painting was accidentally torn. Although it was only a small, tiny tear that was somewhat unnoticeable, momentarily the value of the painting dropped millions of dollars.  Unbelievable! 

The Picasso painting was treated and repaired.  Ultimately, the damage to the painting will not impact its value.  It will still be worth more money than most of us will see in 10 lifetimes. 

I don't care where you came from or what kind of hurt and damage your life has scarred you with--your life and dreams are worth more than the greatest of Picasso paintings!  Are you going to live that way?  Do you see your life as a beautiful story or just a journey with endless trials and tribulations?  How you see your life will impact how you live your life.

I believe there is much more out there for you.  Go get it!