"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude to me is more important than education, genius, experience or the facts!"  -  Charles Swindoll

The most important factor, as you and your family get started, is to have the right attitude about getting healthy and fit! People who think they have the answers or the know-how, and don't need to concern themselves with their mental outlook, very often underestimate attitude. In my view, this is a mistake. If you don't have a positive attitude about what you're striving for and why you are doing it, you will never get there, plain and simple. Let me give you the best example of positive attitude that I have seen in recent times.

Lance Armstrong is a world-class cyclist who has now won six straight "Tour De France" races, breaking a world record. An amazing feat, wouldn't you say? Yes, but to me it pales in comparison to the fact that he won these six races after he was diagnosed with cancer, went through surgery, underwent radiation treatment, made a full recovery - and in less than a year - was back on his bike again. Wow! Can you imagine the kind of attitude a person must possess when they are told that they have cancer, then stand up to it, defeat it and the achieve an epic goal - 100% positive attitude is the only way to describe it! For these past six years, I have attempted to emulate Lance's outlook and attitude toward reaching my goals, and I ask you to do the same. Be happy that you have the ability and opportunity to change an important part of your life for both you and your family. Live with passion, be positive be successful.

As I have always told people who have come to me for guidance regarding their health and fitness "you must make a real, strong and honest commitment to yourself that you will do whatever it takes to achieve your goals. The absence of this commitment will set you up for failure 100% of the time. I know, because I have failed myself. In fact, I fail everyday at something - don't we all? But with strong commitment, you can work through those failures and reach your goals.
   
 "Failure is just success turned inside out!"   -  Tony Robbins

As you and your family plan for success with your new health and fitness lifestyle, apply the same commitment that you have used in past and current successful situations to this new undertaking. Bring forth the same commitment that keeps your marriage working, guides you to being the best parent you can be, or helps you get that elusive account for your company at work! I call it the "stick-to-it" principle - the reason why you have been successful with other important things in life - now apply it to your family's health and fitness. Let your commitment be the glue that keeps it together when things get tough or when you want to quit. Let your commitment be your guide down the path of your family's journey to success - stick-to-it and commit to be fit.

With the right positive attitude in place and a real strong commitment to reach your goals, we now have to determine, specifically, what those goals are! Goal setting is one of the most significant and necessary acts that we perform each day to organize our lives as we move forward toward our dreams and passions. Goal setting helps us stay focused on the prize and keep an eye on the ball as we strive to reach what we desire and want in our lives.

There are important short-term goals and long-term goals that must be handled accordingly if your ultimate dreams are to be realized. Don't confuse the two. (See Chapter 6 for how to establish short-term and long-term goals.) Regardless of who you are - young, old, thin, heavy, poor or rich - at the end of the day, you will be no further along the road of progress if your day didn't start with writing down your goals in order of priority! As you set smaller goals and become successful at them, before you know it, all those small goals will add up to one big success! It works like a charm.

If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Truer words were never spoken when it comes to carrying out an objective or striving toward a goal. Even with a positive attitude, strong commitment and short- and long-term goals clearly stated and documented, you still need direction and a road map of how you will reach your ultimate goals. That's where your family comes in - you must decide things like, who will be responsible for grocery shopping and food preparation, as well as who will head up family fitness outings or tracking the family's exercise activities on logs. Your strategies need to get right down to what days you will exercise, planning your food menu for the week and how much sleep you'll need to be healthy and strong for the challenges ahead.

You and your family's attitudes are positive - all have made a personal and family commitment that is as strong as a rock. You have all set your goals and have the strategies to hit your marks. Now what? That's easy, just put one foot in front of the other and do it! Figuratively and literally, walk the walk, take action and make it happen. Everything is in place. You just have to persevere each and every day toward living your new healthy lifestyle - an approach that will give you optimal health as it provides you with the look and feel that you've determined you wanted!

Now is the time for you to "show-up" and exercise when you are supposed to, eat like you know you have to, work to lower your cholesterol, reduce your body weight, strengthen your heart, and increase your energy levels. In other words, go manufacture your desired results! One more step to go.

As with anything in life, things don't always go according to schedule. Hence the expression, "the best laid plans of mice and men." So you must be patient as you implement your family's new healthy lifestyles into everyone's daily routines. Part of being patient is being proactive. Proactive in the sense of giving something a try, checking if it is working - and, if not, forging ahead to make changes where they are needed. Don't give up when you falter, that's all part of the process. Evaluation is an important step, because it affords you the knowledge of what needs improvement - it's the data and feedback that direct your future actions.

Remember, the road that you're on will sometimes be bumpy and difficult. It's okay as long as you remain focused, patient and continually stay committed to reaching your goals by evaluating your successes and failures and making the necessary adjustments where needed. As your coach I will help you, let's go be successful together!