I remember it vividly, even though it occurred slightly more than 24 years ago. I was walking down the hallway of a hospital-based treatment center, with a nurse who was helping me find my room. I knew I would be in there for at least 28 days while trying to get help with a long-standing drinking problem. The thought came to me just as though a voice had said it: “Well, your life is over with. You’re ruined forever.”

Today, I know that thought was far from being true. But I believed it at the time. I thought that as soon as people heard I gone into the treatment center that my business would suffer,  that my friends would desert me, and that family would be ashamed of me. Instead, my business got better the minute I got well enough to run it like it should be run; my friends–not my drinking buddies but my real friends–came around to assist in any way they could, and my family all let me know that they were really proud I had finally gotten the help I needed.

Chances are, though the source of your ruination might be something other than alcohol, some of you reading this blog can identify with the sense of despair I had that cold evening so many years ago. But, the wonderful thing about life is that it is never a complete failure until you give up and let it be. Even though I surrendered that night in the treatment facility, that surrender was actually the first step to a real victory, though I certainly didn’t view it that way at the time.

If your moment of despair came when you got some bad health news, or someone left you, or you saw those scales climb to a figure you had never seen before,and you feel like quitting on life, this could be your moment to surrender–and to begin a whole new and victorious way of life.

How? I’m talking about the Body for Life Transformation Challenge. Oh, it’s sort of a diet and exercise plan–for sure. But, it’s so much more than just those things. BFL is an opportunity to do much more than you ever thought you could do. It’s an opportunity to create something FOR LIFE. Through Body for Life, You will be empowered to create a whole new source of energy, strength and joy. And it is quite simple to do.

Notice I said “simple,” not easy! Make no mistake–finishing a BFL challenge takes a willingness to suffer at times. The workouts can be tough, and the diet can get monotonous. But the rewards are huge. Don’t overlook the ability of the BFL community to help you get to the finishline. They can’t do it for you, but knowing that they’re watching you will help you stay tough when you feel like quitting and bingeing.

It all starts with reading the book, setting goals, and making some commitments to yourself. Let’s get started! I’ll be blogging for the next few days on what it takes to get started the right way!Your homework assignment is to go read my blog of 3/14/07 on goal setting!