Bill Phillip's | Transformation

My purpose is to live intentionally in stead of accidentally. i NEED this challenge to show myself i can accually finish something that takes intentional thinking.

When I first thought of this, my first thoughts were that my purpose was to get stronger, feel better about myself and try to be a good example for my kids. That seemed so shallow to me. Too easy. When I stopped thinking about it, at least consciously, it hit me. I always stop when I start to succeed. Always. I started the challenge in Jan. and when I started to lose the weight and be successful, I stopped. No real reason, not a conscious decision. I tried weight watchers a year ago. Lost about 15 - 20 pounds and then stopped. I even have a small business and even with that, when I start to get successful, I step back almost like I am looking for the "norm" for me. It is like I don't think I can be successful so why try or I don't deserve to be that successful. Same with finances, whenever things start to get smooth, I make bad choices. I remember that movie "He's Just Not That Into You" the guy says to the girl that she likes drama, so always creates drama in her life. So do I set myself up for failure because I like the drama or because I don't think I deserve to be strong, healthy and successful? So my purpose to to work at telling myself that I am strong, I am worthy of being a success and I can and will complete a goal I have set for myself!

My entire life I've heard ... "She has such potential" only to be afraid of living up to it. Athletically, academically. Now is the time to live up to My potential for me, not for what others "see". So I can be the best person I can be... WHY? Ultimately, to do what I believe we are here to do... to serve others.

Last challenge I did not finish. this is the assignment that stopped me. I thought long and hard on this and struggled to where I never even finished, I went deep and got my self too worked up. My purpose at this time is to enjoy my 18 weeks and beyond. Enjoy the energy I get after working out, enjoy the clean water I put in my body. Enjoy the taste of food for how it is supposed to taste. Enjoy my new positive attitude towards myself and others around me. Enjoy the nights I sleep better , enjoy how others notice the difference in me. Even if they think its a new hair cut..they just know its something and it (I) attracted them to approach me with a positve comment. I will enjoy the abundance of attention from my husband. and yes clothes fitting a little better.

I want to live a Purposeful life. The drive and motivation are there but, for some time now, something has been holding me back. I want to dig deep inside and realize my potential in life. I have so much to live for and bringing my health to the forefront of everyday makes me important enough to save. I want to feel good, look good and do good.

I am in round two and I have had my purpose renewed. 26 years ago my mother died of cancer at a young age of 46. It was then I started to study nutrition and health. I was living clean and telling all who cared to know there was a way to prevent sickness and disease. I received many mockings in college but that was ok. I slowly got busy with life and did not really recognize this was a part of my destiny. Now my health has been renewed and suddenly people are asking me for help. In just the last two weeks I have had at least 12 people wanting me to work them out. 8 of them have already started with me. The flood gates of health have opened up and now I am trying to train people so they can train others. My desire is to see my friends and people I come in contact with transformed body, soul and spirit. I am in the process of planning a new building for our church that will have a fitness center in it and I am getting ready to get certified to be a trainer. Much has changed fast as I am 7 weeks into round two.....Peace Jeff

My transformation purpose continues to evolve and take shape. Today, it is twofold: 1) to love myself so fully that i joyfully open to love with a man 2) to love myself so fully that i can embolden, support and inspire women all over the country to live from a place of self love- in mind, body and spirit - and to take our lived commitments to ourselves fully into our communities to Be the Change and inspire others... one person at a time.

I remember when I was healthy, I didn't give daily tasks a second thought. I just did them because they had to be done. Since my weight gain, I noticed how much I was having to force myself to do the simple things in life, like dishes and laundry. Putting it bluntly, I was pretty pathetic. My motivation was near none. My purpose is to re-acquire that zest for life that I once had. I want those simple tasks to become simple again. I want energy. I want motivation. Weight loss is a big part of this. To be visually appealing would be nice, but I want to be able to bend over and tie my shoes without feeling like my guts are in a vise grip. I want to go jogging again, without having to carry an extra 45 pounds of loose weight bouncing on my body. I have to show my kids that there is more to the world than computers and video games. My oldest son, now 12yo, is overweight. He never really has been athletic, or very active. It scares me. I am doing this for him. I think about what his life will be like when he moves out on his own, when he has no one controlling what he eats or encouraging him to exercise. It scares me. I must show him what life could be. I want to improve my intimate relationship with my husband. We just don't make time for each other any more. We are both very unhappy with our present condition. I guess that's it in a nut shell. There is so much I want to do. So much I want to see. I should be grateful I have my mind and all extremities intact, so many people out there wish they did. But no. I have abused my body for several years now. Some people don't know what they've got, until it's gone.

My purpose is to improve my relationship with my wife and to maintain my physical well being and to improve my golf game and extend my life expectancy and eliminate my mental stress and try to regain my self respect.

My Purpose. "To always be remembered" I remember first setting this goal for myself back in middle school. At that time I didn't know what I would end up doing, but here I am: a teacher, a husband, a father. My purpose is to live a life intentionally, rather than accidentally (as Bill puts it). I desire a long lasting life full of love; in family, in friends, and more importantly in God. I wish to be remembered for "The Dash" at my funeral. I need my children to know and understand how I lived for them. This transformation will prepare me fore the Long Haul, physically, emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually. If I am lucky enough, I will inspire my children to truly live life along side my beautiful bride and I. And lastly, my purpose is to complete this transformation for, and with, my wife. If not for her I would not have found this new purpose in life. I will be remembered, I love you Jessica, I love you Hannah, I love you Landon, I live for you all.

My pupose is to be happy and content with myself, comfortable in my own skin. I want to enjoy the life that God has given to me and I want to live it to the fullest.

Assignmnet # 4 Assignment #4 MY TRANSFORMATION PURPOSE My transformation purpose involves so many things that it is difficult to choose where to start. I want to find real balance in my Body/Mind/Spirit. Just as God is expressed in a trinity....so are we, His creations. We are so much more than his physical body. We were created by God in his image to be made up of a Body (Jesus), Mind (God) and a Spirit (Holy Spirit). All three of these things are God's precious gifts to us. With that being said...which of these three aspects of our lives do you think it would be okay with God for us to abuse, neglect or disrespect? When your body is disordered and neglected.....that is a sign that your spirit is disordered and neglected. I want to begin to see myself as God sees me. I want to see myself as the person he created me to be. I know that I have so much more to offer than I am currently giving. In order for me to do this, I am going to have to focus on the four following factors. 1. MY SELF SABOTAGING BELIEFS: I have to change my beliefs from self destructive ones to self supportive ones. "As a man thinketh in his heart, so he is." Proverbs 23:7 I need to live deliberately and with full consciousness instead of accidently and unconsciously. 2. MY SELF IMAGE: I need to see myself in a positive image. "We were made in God's image and likeness." Genesis 1:26 Wow....what an awesome priviledge. "Know ye not that your body is the temple of God which is in you? Glorify God in your body." 1 Cor 6:19,20 You treat a temple with reverance, you hold it in high regard and you see it in a positive image. Therefore if my body is a temple.....I should hold it in high regard and treat it with respect. 3. SELF ESTEEM AND DESERVABILITY: Psalm 82:6 "I have said you are Gods, and all of you are children of the most high." God made me in his image. That makes me a child of God and a Godly creation. Therefore I am worthy of love. So I love me too!!! 4. MY SENSE OF SELF EMPOWERMENT: I was given the ability as an adult to free myself of my toxic childhood influences. I can only do what God has empowered me to do....but that is much more than I can even imagine. "I can do all things through him who strengthens me." Phil 4:13 This is my favorite scripture. I say it to myself all of the time.

Purpose: living a value centered life. Restructure my habits -learn to be consistent, persistent-to stay with something important until I achieve success. Making a commitment to taking control of my future through implementation of the things I’ve read that were great ideas. Persistence is the key to success (or failure) in our lives. I want to take control of my life, identify what’s important then set out to achieve it until I reach success—until it becomes a habit—a part of me. I value health and fitness--have all my life. It’s on the top of my list top 10 list. Is that vane? I have never been seriously overweight or obese but struggle to this day with bulimia–food is my drug of choice. I want to face the issues instead of hiding them in a binge. My purpose is to find the purpose which God intended me to fulfill--one that fills me with passion. I want to be transformed; I want to identify my values; create a personal mission statement, define what’s important and achieve it. How does one learn what’s important to them. I am confused and sound like a raving maniac. Other people are key to our happiness they can bring the answers to questions you didn’t know to ask. I hope to find those answers and in so doing, bring joy and fulfillment to other people’s lives. That has always been the best.

I posted this on my blog but figured I'd place it here as well as those who have posted before me helped me come up with a lot of it... My purpose is to live my life abundantly. The reason I chose this purpose is that for too long I have allowed my weight and insecurities to keep me basically hiding from the world and life. I can tell my lack of participation in life has caused a negative impact on my wife and children and this is no longer acceptable. This has to change and I believe through a total transformation grounded in Jesus and that includes a healthy diet and exercise regime that I can begin to live my life abundantly and bring my family along with me. In Christine's response to assignment #4 she posted a scripture verse (John 10:10) where Jesus talks about the reason he came was so that we may have an abundant life and this caused me to do some looking at different translations of that verse and I found this verbage from The Message Bible translation... (it is Jesus speaking) "I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of." Now that's what I'm talking about! Peace, David

This assignment is so far the best. I will be blogging this on my page as I have been on the others. Blessings, Melinda

Defining my purpose for transforming.....HEALING has driven me to this transformation....and going on my third round, HEALING is still at the forefront. What complete healing of my body will lead to is another story. What anxieties I have dreaming about all the possibilities that this could lead me too, is another story. Where I choose to keep my focus is on total healing and learning what my body has been trying to tell me for years. I could not stand another year of feeling like a VICTIM instead of the VICTOR I was created to be! I could not stand allowing my poor health to take me deeper into despair, depression, pain, hopelessness, and lifelessness as these past years. I had to pull through it, turn my life around and allow my purpose and destiny guide me! That is what this round is still about....total healing...I am still on the path to recovering from all the damage my virus has created, physically, mentally and spiritually. I am looking forward to feeling complete, whole, pure, and ONE with my mind, body and spirit! Won't you join me on this journey??? It's no fun alone...we are here to love and support one another! What are you waiting for...reach out today and don't be afraid to tell me what you need to make your transformation complete. And don't be surprised if the reason why I am here this very moment is to help Y O U !!!!! Hugs from California...Demi

I am going to do this assignment on my blog, as I can edit it there. I am learning so much here, daily, and I am sure that I will change my "why" as I progress on this journey. Many blessings! ~Victory 09!

This assignment has been really emotional for me. My purpose in the first challenge drove me through the hard times when I wanted to quit, and I really did not know what I was going to discover as my purpose for this round. After writing I’ve uncovered feelings that help explain why I’m feeling so emotional…. I’m just SO GRATEFUL that I’m no longer dying and killing myself with food, alcohol, and drugs! I’ve been given a second chance at life, and I’m so unbelievably grateful for this, and I just want to spread and share this gift with others who are struggling and killing themselves with addictions like I used to. I know I can’t do this alone, and I know I can use tcom, the people on the site, all of the assignments and the tools provided here to go even further into my recovery. I want to build my faith and trust in others…let go of more of my past….look into more ways to allow my highest, truest, most authentic self to shine through and spread to others. I’m at a point in my life where I’m SO grateful for all of the progress I’ve made and opportunity I’ve been given, but I know I still have some major breakthroughs to reach. I feel like I just want to face all of my fears, take risks and shine through to release all of my goodness without being held back by self imposed limitations by my physical self. By shining through and allowing my truest self to be uncovered, I will be able to reach and serve others in the best, most optimal ways possible…..and the possibilities are infinite and limitless. I really want to help people struggling with an eating disorder or other addiction. In order to do this I need to maintain, improve and go further in my recovery, transformation, and inner awareness. So that is my purpose for this round…….I will become stronger, more present, more aware, more loving, more compassionate, more trusting and more fearless!!

~Round Two~ Purpose this round. I see my purpose of digger deeper into the level of WORTH that I AM and continuing to Embrace VALUING MY BODY ...MY BEING ...MY WORKOUTS and MY eating RIGHT daily! TO Embrace the athelete within me so that I can shed another forty pounds. I want to be the healthiest momma and wife and Shari I can be and to share my story of finding my WORTH and the wonderful unconditional Lavish love of GOD thats available for All~ I desire to really kick this round up five gears and get the rest of the weight I need to get off. I am healthy but I want to be even healthier! I want to shine even Brighter the pearl of Worth that I am abiding IN inside! GOD is the change that I desire to see in the world and I HOPE and PRAY that HIS LOVE is being seen and radiated through me! Thats my purpose and desire! My message is that you have WORTH ...your worth is not based on the scale or a tape measure but the belovedness of BEING GODS CHILD and that period. When you know your WORTH you can VALUE YOUR BEING and value your eating and value your workouts and your spiritual growth. It all starts with this Lavish unconditional LOVE OF GOD! I hope to share this message and to continue to inspire and encourage others to embrace there WORTH and find value in who they are as GODS Child! Thats my hearts desire and Prayer! Love YOU Shari

What is my purpose for making this transformation? To help inspire others, which in turn inspires me To feel confident and proud of myself To know, without a doubt, that I can achieve my goals as long as I am willing to do the work For my mother to see me at a healthy weight before she is finally lost to Alzheimers To LIVE life again - with purpose, passion and excitement To socialize more and reach out to make new friendships and deepen current ones To fall in love and share my life with someone special To deepen my faith and spirituality To become healthy and fit To be able to wear clothes I love and feel good in them To become the person I was born to be...before I learned to hide behind the layers of fat and the walls that I've built up over the years

It's so simple. I am becoming healthy and balanced so that i can be the best i can be for everyone else. I want to be healthy for my own personal reasons, but really when my focus is on how it affects those around me, it is so much more serious and pressing the importance of getting healthy. Healthy spiritually, emotionally, mentaly, and physically. I want to influence people just by being who I am. And by becoming healthy and being the change i'm able to do this! <3 Angela

Assignment 4- The Purpose Driven Challenge This assignment REALLY CHALLENGED me. Finally, during my devotional time last night, I got some inspiration that helped pull together all of my miscellaneous thoughts. Jesus said in John 10:10: "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly." I am seeking an abundant life: a life full of energy, enthusiasm and a zest for living; a life overflowing with opportunities to give and receive love; a life in which I reach my full potential by pushing beyond perceived limits; a life that is authentic; a life that glorifies God and makes God smile; a life that is fun and enjoyable, challenging, stimulating and balanced. I no longer want to be ashamed about how I look or held back by the curable diseases of obesity and depression! I want to create a positive self-image, inside and out. I want to Be The Change so I that fulfill my calling to help college students develop their God-given potential. P.S. When I have lost 100 lbs., I want to challenge Bill Phillips to a basketball free-throw shooting contest.

I no longer care to be known as 'the swimmer (or ex-swimmer) or one of the "kent girls"...because that's all I've ever been known as growing up....by what was written in the papers back in high school and college for athletic achievements. I'm 33 now so to me, those things are here today...gone tomorrow. Even the body changes aren't top priority (but always feel incredible). I'm looking forward to the changes that create a lifetime of achievement in not just myself, but those around me. I want to be someone that people remember and say "Wow, that gal made a difference--she showed us the way by her life and her choices." I want my daughter to grow up spiritually strong and not rely on relationships or the tangible things to make her happy. I hope my son grows up continuing to make us smile with his crazy food concoctions (what other 7-year old wants grilled shrimp, cucumbers and yogurt for his birthday party?!?!) and his contagious joy. Most of all, I want to be grateful for Bill's ideas and give all thanks to his creation, his vision, his efforts and his willpower to see this all through. And of course, all the glory to God for allowing it all to happen!!!!

This was a hard assignment as I have never really thought about this. I have always only wanted to lose weight to look good. But now that I had to think about it... Why I want to lose weight is; a) to experience complete acceptance b) to feel more attractive and loved c) to be healthy, strong, and fit d) to reach a goal I have worked on for years e) to inspire my sister and others around me when I have success f) to become more spiritually connected on this journey and more aware of why I am addicted to food and what I am using it for Thanks Bill.

My transformation purpose is to become the teacher I was always meant to be - to inspire the children who, like me, don't fit the mold, who are lost and need my light to show them the way. Who the hell do I think I am? I Know who I am. I am Elizabeth Candice McKenna, and I am AMAZING!!

I had such a hard time with this assignment last challenge (which I never finished) this time around...my purpose is clear cut...to live authentically. The way I am living now is merely existing and I know in my heart and soul I have so much to offer. I am literally wasting God's gift...ME...by not changing. No more! My answer may appear ambiguous...but I know without a doubt, as the layers are shed...the true me will emerge...and I can't wait to get to know and share her! Thank you for being the blessing that you are,Bill! -Karyl

The reason for my transformation is for living. At any second God can call us home. What a wonderful day that will be! Praise God! While God allows me to have another second here on earth, I need to live my life. I want to be here 100% for my kids and husband, family and friends. I want to achieve my purpose that God has planned. And I will!

The reason for my transformation is clear. I want to be around for my children. Over the years things have come up that made me think 'Wow, this is it, I've got to get healty!', but nothing compared to my husband coming close to death last January. He somehow caught a deadly virus called Legionnaire's Disease. We thought he had the flu so by the time we got him to the hospital, it was almost too late. He was on life support for 11 days. Thinking about how fast someone's life can be gone scared me enough to make changes to become healthy. I know things can still happen, but hopefully if I take care of myself I will be around to watch my kids grow and become adults and have families of their own. I'm going to be the best grandmother! Not too soon I hope with my son who is 16!!!

REASONS FOR TRANSFORMING I WANT TO BE ABLE TO TAKE MY TOP OFF AND BE PROUD OF WHATS UNDERNEATH. I REALLY WANT TO HAVE A FLAT STOMACH. I’M SICK OF HAVING A FLABBY BELLY AND MAN BOOBS. I WANT TO BE STRONG. FOR ONCE IN MY LIFE I WANT TO HAVE DEFINATION TO MY BODY. I WANT TO HAVE MUSCLES. I WANT TO LIVE A LONGER LIFE. I WANT TO BE FIT AND HEALTHY. I WANT TO BE ABLE TO HELP OTHERS WITHOUT CONTRADICTING MYSELF WITH THE STATE OF MY BODY. IN THE FUTURE MY END GOAL IN A COUPLE OF YEARS IS TO BE A PERSONAL TRAINER

My purpose for making a transformation is to be healthy,positive and have the energy to do those 14 hour days and still have some left. My main reason is for my dad,who passed away on christmas,he was my rock.Its also for the three kids who look up to me every day.:)

My transformation purpose is to live my life to glorify God and to take care of this body he has given me. To be happy and content with myself just the way I am.

My purpose: 1. To continually strengthen my relationship with God. 2. To continually strengthen my relationship with my children. 3. To actively seek inspiration in my life. 4. To find ways to continually inspire others through a life of service.

My purpose is to for once in my life start and finish something that very important to me Without procrastination,doubting my ability or just having all the excuses in the world why i can't do it

My purpose; To stop feeling like a failure of never reaching my potential to inspire and help other people!

My purpose is clear: I need to be the woman I want my baby girl to grow up to be - engaged, healthy and present, not burdened with a bad relationship with food and fitness.

I don't want to live behind these invisible walls anymore, only seeing life half way. I want to REALLY live, not just exist. I want to experience things in a real way - without hesitation, without guilt, but with true joy and happiness because I will have finally learned how to cherish my life and my body as the gifts they were meant to be when God put me on this earth FOR MY PURPOSE! I will look in the mirror every morning and know the person staring back at me inside and out. I will understand my priorities and take care of my family like I want too. I am desparate to know how it feels to truly accomplish something without doubting my reasons & abilities.

Purpose - My story in short, in February '08 I was depressed, wandering with no purpose, no direction, no clue. I stepped on the scale and it really didn't surprise me. 335 pounds, body fat measured at 46.1%. My reflection in the mirror was worse. How could anyone want to be with this or even around this. I wasn't pleasant to look at, I didn't even enjoy it. I couldn't stand my job, my body, me as a whole and life was pointless. Again, no purpose. I was fresh out of a relationship that had taken a turn for the worst, and at that moment, my lowest moment, I decided form that day forward, Charlie Wigington, is only moving forward. It is time to go up and elevate everything about me and everyone around me. It was time to live life to the fullest, to inspire, to motivate, to Elevate. As common as it is, I want to look better. Who doesn't, right? But I can already see past that. Which is where my heart is and the purpose lies. Ironically enough, I started a blog on blogger titled elevation and the entire blog is about anyone I come into contact with who wants to change. I want to be the person who lends the hand to help. While the changes within me are great, I know already that watching someone else grow is much more dynamic. As of right now I am helping my best friend do this as well and through 6 weeks he has lost 14 lbs and dropped his body fat by 4%, but that pales in comparison to the change in his attitude/spirit. I've been wandering in life for 28 years, but now I know what I have been called to do. I want to leave on a final note. Elevate 1. to move or raise to a higher place or position; lift up. 2. to raise something up to a higher level, position, or state :)

My Purpose My purpose for transformation is a lot of things really. I want the satisfaction that i did something for myself that will impact my life greatly. I want to use it as a tool to help others. I want the right to say "i did it and you can too!" I want to live my life the fullest it can be lived and use my God Given Potential as i know that we all have a gift we were meant to use! I want the simple things, like just going into a store and not worrying about if i can find something in my size. I want to go into the stores that seem like forgien countries to me because i have NEVER stepped foot in them! My purpose over all is to change everything from the inside out! Physical, Mental, and Spiritual

As I keep going back to the assignment of week one, I cannot help but hate it...but my this defining purpose has changed so much from what it was in week 1...everything has changed!

My purpose now is completely different than it was round 1. I have learned so much and continue to grow every day, but I have a real desire now to help others out of that dark place. I did not realize with support in place how much you can learn and grow in a relatively short time. I will continue to learn and grow and be a sponge that soaks up the opportunities to learn more and continue to strive to be a better person but Ican also give back because I have an abundance of love to share now along with an open heart. Thie time around the change is different, my goals are different and I have on a much larger pair of glasses toreally help me figure things out.

Round 2- Why? As of tonight, this Assignment has an entirely knew purpose for me. My son came over today and was so excited to be sending in his packet. His energy and light were incredible. I had not read his essay and had no idea what he had written. I picked it up, read the first paragraph, broke into tears and said You Won! Now, whether he wins the title or the prize, I have no idea, but he has won so much more then that. He get's it. He received the Gift! From the words in his first paragraph, he credited my Transformation for his inspiration and motivation to make positive changes in his life. He was living in that darkness also, because of me, my example and my Transformation changed that for him. Where I lead him to, I was also able to lead him away. Words can not express what this meant to me. My purpose now, in this continued Transformation is to continue on my journey and to hopefully, positively help others to "get it", to cross the abyss, blow the bridge and travel this Transformation journey with progress and success. I want to carry on the Transformation message in the best possible way so that others are able to Transform their lives. With those words that he wrote, he's already given back. He gave back to me. With those words, without saying it, he told me he forgave me for my dark time and lack of the showing of love and affection. With those words, he forgave me for not being capable of being the mom he deserved while I focused on my misery. Always, even in those times, I would have given my life for any of my children, I just wasn't able to show them the love I had for them. I had no love for myself, how could I? Now I do and my purpose is to share that love, not only with them, but with all of you. My deepest gratitude to all of you for being here with me. Much love, Carolynn

The purpose of my transformation is to rise above the thoughts and emotions that keep me from attaining my full potential. While the physical transformation is important, it is part of the journey to the spiritual and emotional freedom and peace that I desperately need. I have never been more committed to making something happen.

My purpose is to be the best that I can be and to be a good role model for others. I complained about my weight for so many years and every once in a while I would come across someone who was in a wheelchair or mentally challenged and I would think to myself these people physically can't do the things that I can so why am I complaining. I would tell myself that God made me healthy and whats stopping me from getting fit and healthy. There's no excuse. You know the old saying "Use it or lose it." I should be thanking God every moment for making me so healthy and think about that when I think I just can't do another rep or run anymore. I want to inspire anyone I can. I want people to look at me and think 'Look at how well she takes care of herself, I can do that." I also want to be in shape so I can have the energy to do things withmy children for many years to come and my grand-children as well.

I'm sure I will be thinking about this often and may change, but right now...My purpose besides weight loss and to improve my health is to feel good about myself all the time, to finish what I start.

I started this journey because my daughter told me to. I have needed to lose quite a bit of weight for several years, but I have a very difficult time staying committed for very long. So my initial purpose is weight loss. However, I am finding that I need to become committed to me and the things that I need. Not the things that my family needs or my friends need. Just me, taking time for myself to think and excercise and enjoy my life. Making me the best person I can be, so I can be all the things that everybody else needs me to be. Thanks for the opportunity to succeed. Deb

I feel that God has given me many gifts and talents but in order to fulfill my destiny and purpose i need to let go of fears that have been holding me back and release these gifts.So I made up my mind to do the transformation to let go the fears and go after my dream of accomplishing my goal of finishing the transformation,to finally meet Bill and to feel confident about myself and to be healthy in body, mind and soul.And to be a good example to my children and to help others and the community.

The purpose of my Transformation is to make a revolution; a revolution of my mind, body and spirit. My mind is cloudy, but getting better; my body is hurting, but getting better; and my spirit is broken, which is slowest to get better. Transformation, for me, is ultimately being able to love myself. I had been an overachiever while recently completing my college education. I had control of my grades, but I still can’t figure out why I didn’t have control of my mind, body and spirit. I strived to get that perfect grade on all my work, but at home I just didn’t care. I was angry, lazy, unorganized and unaccountable. The Transformation that I am shooting for will make me happy, energized, organized and accountable. I am also practicing the Universal Law of Reciprocation. I find that I am holding my head up, looking at people when I use to avoid eye contact for fear someone may see into my broken soul, and I am verbally conveying greetings…like “how you folks doing today” when I’m walking in the park. My husband even commented, “What’s gotten into you?” I told him it was my Transformation thing and it makes me feel energetic and happy. How can’t being kind be contagious? It is contagious! I get a smile every time I speak to a passerby. It may be the only smile they will get all day or week. I think this is the most recognizable part of my Transformation so far. Love. I feel so much Love from the other Transformers and I want to share it. I want to inspire others. I want to make a revolution to win my revolution and my personal war. My Transformation will show that I AM THE CHANGE! CHARGE!

The purpose of this challenge for me is the feeling that knowing feeling and confidence you get when you have done a great thing! I have had success with BFL, and when you make such a change on the inside and out, people around you notice and want a part of it. You are motivating to others just by being! While I am not where I once was, I am striving for consistency with this challenge. In the past, I have done well, and am still in relatively good shape having ran in two mini-marathons and several 5 and 10K's. But, I do tend to go all or nothing and am working to make this a lifestyle; I am striving to continually grow. I want to be a positive messenger and live the life God wants me to live!

A4 C2, My purpose is to continue daily to reach my unlimited potential that God has given me, and in turn make a difference in the lives of others. Constant and never ending improvement.

The reason for my Transformation - The only 'constant' I have had in my life has been wanting to be anyone different than who I am. I've never wanted for any external enemies because I have always been my own worst enemy. Oh my gosh, what a shame and what a waste. I have wasted so many precious years, months, weeks, days and minutes of my life obsessing about all the things about myself that I loathe...too fat, too tall, too pear shaped, too much cellulite. This was my automatic default mode. Ahhhhhhh, I finally get it. It's taken me my entire life up until this point but I finally figured it out. My self neglected body and depressed stat of mind are a mere reflection of my severely neglected soul. If I could turn back the clock of time I would appreciate every single second of life by celebrating the fact that I have been given the opportunity to live life in a human form - a life of endless possibilities. (How much better does it get??!!!) I literally created a life of agony for myself. No outside forces or parties are to blame. I've done this all on my own. Today, I accept full responsibility and promise that I will never let another day go bye without remembering to love and honor my life and my Creator. My life is going to be beautiful, happy and fulfilled because I am going to take positive and affirmative action to make it a reality! I think my transformation has just started with realizing (and truly believing) that I am a co-creator in my own life. I can help write the script of how my life is going to play out.. Who knew???.. WOW - the possibilities are endless. I want this not only for myself, but for everyone!!!!!

My assignment four is pretty simple What motivates me to change, really is I am simply fed up with how I have been showing up in the world. I am sick of NOT living my life & letting it pass me by. I think my 40th fast approaching made me really reflect on how I have chosen to live these past few years. I CLUNG to the grief of losing my daughter like it was a life line. Grief was all I had left of her (I thought) so if I let go of the grief, I let go of her. It is my own version of the butterfly effect. *MY* sadness & pain has caused others sadness & pain. It is time for me to turn that around. My purpose now is to move forward & LIVE my life, for my living children, for Isabella & for myself. In finding peace & happiness, I can pass that on to my family & those around me. I want to change the way I show up in the world. We all deserve better. To quote Ol' Blue Eyes himself: You gotta love livin', baby, 'cause dyin' is a pain in the ***.” (sorry)

My purpose it to wake up not worried that I’ll have a heart attack as a result of not GUOMA. I’ll decrease my risk factors for diabetes, stroke and maybe cancers. My purpose is to be more attractive for my wife; to be a head turner on the outside. My purpose is for my daughter to have a dad around (not in waist girth) at her high school graduation. As a result of fulfilling my purpose, people will be more attracted to me; they may see the glitter in my eye and ask me how I walk through life with an attitude of purpose- an attitude of gratitude. My purpose will free me to let go of the resentments and live happily and usefully whole.

I have lots of superficial 'reasons' for doing this, but my 'purpose'? To have no regrets. To be able to look back on my life and say "I lived every second of that to the fullest, and I'm not sorry for any of it."

I am my mothers daughter. She was my hero, and always will be, every thing good that I've become is because she saw it in me first. In her eyes I shined with a gift and light of life impossible for me to concieve, I just basked in it. I was loved in the most complete and total way possible. When she was alive, she didn't see the fat, she saw my pain and always wanted me to be happy. It's not because I want to do or be what she wanted, I want to do and be what she knew I could. She always told me "you are so much stronger than you know" and I think that is true about everyone. No one else see's in me what my mother did, but if I was free of this pain I could and would introduce myself to them, my loved ones. I want the clarity of thought that freedom from pain brings. I want my heart to be open instead of wrapped up with concern. I want the joy that is in my heart to shine in my eyes so that they know, that I love them as much as my mother loved me. PS I also want my clothes to fall off!

Okay - so you may think this is silly or corny or stupid - but I work well this way. If I am going to read my transformation purpose every day - and keep it in my memory - I have to make it rhyme. It's just something I know will keep me motivated throughout my transformation. Treat my body to a healthy life Remember who I was before Always keep my goals in mind Never give up wanting more Show myself I’m worth the effort Forget about my past mistakes Offer encouragement to others Repetition is all it takes Mind & body, heart & soul Are what I will change forever Transformation of my life I know it’s possible together Open up myself to change & be that change I want to be! Nothing is going to stop this change – because this change is ME! Thanks, Bill for this assignment. I enjoyed it a lot.

My transformation purpose is to live a healthy fulfilled active life. I want to feel the strength and energy and enjoy the motions of my body. I've been living too long "getting by". Why? I want to influence my daughter and someday grandchildren to live healthy active lives. I want to show them how to enjoy and respect food and their bodies. I want to give my soul a strong healthy body to live in. Thank you Bill for giving us this forum to share a piece of ourselves. Dawn

Why the transformation? First of all, I'm thankful that God gave me this body to use and to use it properly. Our bodies are temples! So we need to take care of it. I want to use this experience to train myself to eat clean on a regular basis. I'm focusing on healthy habits while throwing away the bad ones. My husband and I are newly weds and will some day be parents. It's important to me to be a good example to my future children. I also want to encourage family and friends to live a health life! Trust me, if I can do it.....anyone can! I want to prove to myself and everyone else, it is possible!!

My transformation purpose is to be the woman that God created me to be. He can only use me as much as I allow Him to, He is a gentleman. The fearful mindsets and insecurities paralyze me and keep me in a place of unbelief and bondange. I am not effective in what I do if I am not transformed into the woman who created me to be.

I want to understand and truly change my mind and heart that I deserve to be healthy, happy, alive and not just dreaming of a great life, but living it - For the rest of my life...

I'm on round 2 and this purpose defining has come a lot easier than the first time. My purpose for this challenge is to lose myself for my Heavenly Father's sake and I know if I do this I will find it, as promised.

I'm finishing this this week. I'm meditating on the difference between reason and purpose- ON initial thought, purpose has a much deeper and lasting sense to me. One definition of purpose is: A result or effect that is intended or desired Reason on the other hand is The basis or motive for an action, decision, or conviction. Given the above purpose seems so much more lasting. It is the by product of some action while reason is a precursor to action. Looking toward purpose, I believe, puts me in a place that active imagination of what will happen during this transformation is much easier and practical.

Why Transformation, because I don't think I have ever completed one fully in my life. I have been trying to change (my demeanor) as long as I can remember never quite making it permanent change. Harsh, brash, intolerant, impatient, addictive, I could go on. I do have the potential to really be an enlightened and loving person, but I let fear rule my life which has a tendency to spill out onto other people unfavorably (and being Irish is no excuse.) I’m almost 50 years old and I would like to think I could get it right before I leave this place. I need to love myself more so I can love others the way God wants me to. I need a true and lasting transformation and that’s why I want to thank Bill for giving us a place that could help to make this happen and where we can be transparent with each other. Mike

when i sit myself down and reflect on where i have been and what i have done so far in life, i am about 75-80% satisfied... i did a lot of things for me, to become who i am... and now, i know it's time to do for others, and that requires a polished up version of myself...i have let myself down many times and felt guilty, frustrated, physically ill, and just a feeling like my circuits were all fried out...i know deep inside that i am unable to fully help others if my own foundation, my building blocks for life are in disarray...so i start with my physique because i do believe that with a sound body, comes a sound mind...i don't just want to exist and die...i want to leave something that can help people live a more fulfilled life by finding an inner calm, a connectivity to everything around them and to slow down and enjoy life... i can accomplish this by first leading by example...right now, my circle of influence needs to be this community right here, a community full of good intentioned people who radiate at a higher level...thank you Bill and all who are here...

My transformation is very clear to me and has never changed my 4 year old son suffers from a rare stomach disease called gastroparesis we spend a lot of time in and out of hospitals as Dr's try patiently to figure out how to help him keep food down I became increasingly weak and struggled for a while with my own health and general weakness I need to be strong for my Cody he needs me more than ever if I were not here fighting for him no one else would my transformation is for my 4 year old but mostly for me to see Cody and Parker grow into healthy and active men.

Why the transformation? I have always been concerned with my weight. But even more so, the effect that being overweight was having on my heart and mind. I’ve battled with depression, with self-worth, with image. I’ve tried looking in the mirror and telling myself that it’s fine, that I’m ok, that I’m not “that” fat. The real reason why I joined the transformation is mainly weight loss. But I realize that being fit and looking and feeling good, are just by-products of being healthy. You don’t have to sell me on nutrition, or the benefits of exercise. I know. I just need help putting my beliefs into practice. I’ve always been a little wary of joining a weight loss program. I didn’t want to be a part of the next fad diet, and I wanted to be able to do it myself. By myself. That way, no one else would have to know if I failed. If no one but me knew that I was making goals, there would be no disappointment in me when I didn’t reach them. So why The Transformation? Simply put, I’m tired. I’m tired of failing. I’m tired of feeling ugly, unworthy, fat and repulsive. I’m tired of not feeling strong, of being embarrassed of being so out of shape. I’m tired of being a slave to food. I’m tired of knowing how bad something is for me, and then eating it anyways. Why the Transformation? Because it’s the only weight loss program that I’ve found that has the focus on being healthy, inside and out. I believe that God designed each part of me, and that He wants me to be healthy spiritually and mentally, as well as physically. I want to be happy. Truly happy with myself and the way I look. I want to feel good and strong. I want to be “that girl”. The one with the rockin’ bod, the infectious smile, and an energetic zest for life. That’s why.

My purpose is to reach my God given potential, to live an all around healthy life, to bring my whole being into balance. I want to live each day on purpose,not just going through the motions.

My Transformation purpose is to change my appearance. I’ve struggled with my weight for fifteen years. It has gotten worse with the birth of each of my four children. I didn’t ever lose the weight after having the baby. I’ve always been self-conscious. I’m worried that my children may become embarrassed of me. My children are young and love me for who I am. They want me to be at school and events to support them, but I am embarrassed of myself. I know that they will begin to feel this way about me if I continue on to feel this way about myself. I want to feel comfortable with my body image. I want to be a good example to my family. I want to teach my children to live a healthy life. I want to be happy and healthy.

I wanted to lose weight, but, more than anything I want to get off my medications. I want to feel better. I want in 20 years to be able to do things for mysel., not someone doing for me what I could be able to do for myself. I don't want to be a burden on my kids and my grandkids. I want to be able to enjoy my family and not needing them to do the simplest of tasks for me. To not be limited by pill schedules and physical problems. Maybe I will come up with more later. Frank

At first it was for additional weight loss. Answering the why, to live life to the fullest. Meaning, not living my life with a schedule of medications everyday. To be able to do whatever we would like to with no physical limitations. To truly enjoy my children, and grandchildren, and not be tired, or not in the mood. To live my life intentionally, and not accidentally. To inspire and encourage others around me. Carmen :~)

My Transformation Purpose: Well, I started my first one to I guess get "in shape" and get thinner like I was back in 2000. But after going through my first 18 weeks, I realized that the transformation is worth much more than the potential to get in the best shape of your life. The inner change is worth far more than what a scale can give you. So, my purpose is to improve my inner workings. I mean, I want to be able to express myself better, and with that be able to understand myself better. Does that make sense? I'm going to use this Round of the Challenge to make the leap into improving my relationship with the Big man Upstairs! I also plan on at least losing another 34 lbs, and dunking a basketball! I know it sounds like a daunting task for someone who started the new year 2009 at a not very health 283 lbs, But after being a part of this community and breaking down some barriers I thought were impenatrible, I know the sky's the limit!

Original Assignment #4 (T1) Quoted: “I began this journey with several reasons for why I wanted to shed the unwanted body fat and unhealthy weight. Each of them is essential to ensuring a long HEALTHY life where I can interact and participate in my children's lives, and future grandchildren's lives.” (T2): My intentions for embarking on a life of health, wellness, balance, and spiritual guidance have only become more solidified throughout the past twenty weeks. I completed my first transformation challenge on May 11, 2009. I remember that more just two short weeks ago when I sat there at the computer staring in awe of my finish photos compared to my beginning photos. I was shocked at the physical progress that I am making in this journey. For so many years I relied on the scale to decide my health, and ignore the tight fitting clothing, comments by family members regarding my health. I was living a lie. I talked myself into thinking I was healthy every time the blood work from health exams would come back in the ‘normal’ range and I was told everything looked great. I used that as a tool to justify not exercising, eating clean, or being present. When is enough – enough? A Heart attack? Knee replacement? Death? These were all realistic circumstances I could have found myself facing in the not so distant future had I chosen to continue a life of abuse towards my soul, my spirit, my body. The reality that my health was declining and I had to take action. First I had to accept the damage I had caused to my body, my soul, my spirit, and FORGIVE me. For years the anger that harbored within me was what kept me safe from those who could potentially harm me physically or mentally. What I did not realize is that walking around life with a ‘what if’ mentality was the very source of what kept me from LIVING and BEING PRESENT. • What if I lose the weight how will people treat me? • What if I get a divorce (first marriage) will I be better off without being abused mentally/physically? • What if I got hit by a bus tomorrow and died who would miss me? • What if no one cared for Kelli? When people would ask me, “Is your glass half empty or half full?” I would always reply, “Half empty!” without even thinking about the question. It was not until years later that I realized in one conversation with my husband that I was a very negative person and that I attack people before I get to know them that I realized how much needed to change. It was painful to have someone you love tell you things about you that they don’t like, but in the same token it is a blessing. Bills says, “without a powerful purpose which motivates and inspires me, my true capabilities and potential remain unrealized.” My powerful purpose in life became discovering who Kelli is. What Kelli wants in life? How Kelli treats other? Why Kelli feels alone when she abundance and love around her (ie. Family, friends, husband, children)? Where is Kelli? He goes on to say, “Until I snapped out of it and stopped living accidentally and started living intentionally – until I started pursuing a purpose that I was passionate about, the chances of me changing were between slim and none.” Talk about an “A-HA” moment! I was living accidentally and without intention. I was just getting up each day getting dressed and going through the motions. There were no feelings, no intentions, no goals, no purpose to what I was doing or who I was doing it with. I was a lost soul in a huge ocean of nothingness looking for a raft or someone to cast me a line. My husband did just that when he shared with me the powerful words of , “You’re a very negative person, and it drains me.” I had jumped from one failed marriage into a relationship with the most amazing human being I’ve ever met and I was failing again at LIVING my AUTHENTIC SELF! In fact, I didn’t even know what or who that was at the time. The journey began and the pursuit of who I was became a passion of mine. In my first transformation I faced my fear of success. I learned it was not about the actual success but that I was afraid of the work I had to commit to in order to get across the abyss to the success I desired. Not an easy task. In fact I am willing to bet many of us here find that so many times before we’ve said, “I’ll start Monday,” and the Monday’s never seem to come. I found myself edging on jumping in full force and resist just enough to ‘get by’ in my first challenge. I was not present in my workouts I was there and lifting the weights and making the motions happen. Injuries occurred because I WAS NOT PRESENT in my mind, in my body. This was another point my husband made to me in a workout session one morning, “your getting hurt because your not here in the moment. You’re at the bus stop picking up the kids, or scheduling a session for study time. BE HERE!” Have you ever seen the V8 Commercial where everyone clunks themselves in the head as if to say, “A-HA!” I get it. Well, let me just say that having this wonderful superman by my side has been the catalyst to much of my success and growth. Transformation Round One was a contraction in my mind of the potential I have to be a champion and be the most authentic self I have ever known, ever! My purpose in this round is to embrace all that I have learned throughout my first transformation and really dig in and learn even more about me, and my potential in life. I am a full time college student in pursuit of my degree in Biology to move ahead into medical school. The conversations that took place BEFORE my transformation challenge were always, “Well if I…..” and now they are, “When we…..” It is no longer a question of “IF” but “When” and “I WILL…” I am so honored to be in this community and blessed by so many insightful and loving human beings. I am loved and support here, and love and supported at home. My purpose in this journey is to be my authentic self, and to lead by example, support and love unconditionally, and honor my own presence on this earth. BEING ME is a CELEBRATION OF LIFE and a BLESSING unlike any other. My purpose is to BE the best ME I can be 

These "innocent assignments" are SO powerful and thought provoking. Reading this and pondering the question made me realize what an impact my mother's obesity had on me, and seeing her miss out on so much in life because of it. She mostly stayed in the house, doctors never took any of her ills seriously because of her weight, and even my dad made fun of her weight on occasion. More than anything, I want to reach out and help each and every person locked in that kind of flesh prison. But first, I have to find it within myself to transform before I can stand up as an example of what can be. Then I can reach out to others who are not experiencing the joy of life that they could be. I want to be the change, so I can say, "you can do this too - you deserve to feel good and have joy in life."

my reasons for transformation are I want to be the best person I can be everyday. With God,with my children,family,friends, everyone that I come in contact with. To be kind all the time, To not be lead by my ego.. To not let my emotions guide me... anger,jealously,stress etc....

My reason for entering the Challenge? So that I am at peak physical conditioning to live out my life's purpose. What is my life purpose? To grow, learn, love, and to enjoy and experience all that life has to offer, and to help others by becoming an example that they can look to for inspiration and guidance.

My reasons to change: Up to this point in my life I have been living to get through the day & not for the future because of low self esteem & lack of confidence & not following through with pretty much everything in my life because there is simply is no energy or motivation because of past & present failures. A mindset of “that’s not possible for me”. Right now I feel like there is gate that is blocking me from making any progress in my life. I simply can not longer stand that type of thinking & I am doing this to show myself that when I complete this challenge all things are within my reach. I’m doing this so I have the courage, determination, confidence, energy; focus to accomplish everything that I thought was impossible!! Number one priority is for my family, that we live a joyful & healthy fulfilling life. So for now I will leave you by saying I will see you at the finish line!! Jammin

"Why" the Transformation? I want to have a better life, my BEST life. My weight issues have caused me to give up on life. It has tore me down. I know my life is meant to be more than it is. I'm holding myself back from relationships, my ministry, my business, my finances, every aspect of my life. To conquer FEAR. To have a better perception of myself. To change my mindset. To live and be excited about what life has in store for me. To be a better me. To be a better daughter, grand-daughter, sister, aunt, and friend. To not hold back in my business. To be bold and compassionate and passionate in my ministry sharing the good news of Christ, to have a savings account, to buy a new car and a home, to travel. To fall in love and trust again. To be a mentor to a child or someone that's been where I have been. To live a life of purpose on purpose! As Bill wrote, "Loving my life and inspiring others in the process."

My definite major purpose in life is to become the best person I can possibly be in all key areas of my life, which are Financial, Career, Relationships, Health and Fitness, Personal Goals, Recreation, and Contributions, thereby becoming a "Center of Distribution" for all of God's infinite abundance!

I've tried BFL on a few occasions in the past, but looking back my reason for change was superficial and for lack of a better word, selfish. The first time was back in 1998 I was over 220lb and wanted to get a body like those on the Body of Work video. I read the book front to back and performed the exercises in them, had my cooler at work and ate 6 meals a day. My goal was the ripped body in those pictures, I got knocked off track for some reason and stopped in week 10 I think. I trimmed down to the mid 180's so I had a tremendous change but I didn't achieve my goal and therefore in my mind it was a failure. Fast forward to 2003ish. Our family had a weight loss contest 10 participants put in 50 bucks each and the winner took all the money. $500 bucks could buy some nice motorcycle gear I'll let you know. I started off on BFL about 2 weeks before the start of our contest at 217lbs. 2 weeks later when the family contest started I was down to 209. I ended up at 186, but lost the contest by one stinking pound. Once again, my goal was not met, so I failed. Then fast forward to 2007, the year I turned 40, I wanted a six pack of abbs by my birthday. We had just built a pool and I wanted to show off my 20 year old body to the world. I should have watched what I wished for because when I was 20 I was around 230lbs and very out of shape. Well I can't remember the start and ending numbers but it was something around 210 start and 190 high 180 ending. Good but the only six pack at the party was the six pack of Shiner Bock my friends got me for my birthday. I had a great time at the party but my goal wasn't met. Each time I was only worried about the physical change, period. I could care less about any emotional change or any feeling better or any of that other stuff. I wanted a buff body and anything else was icing on the cake. On to 3 weeks ago, I was looking for a way to lose weight again. Back up to around 205-210 depending on my beer, fajita, taco, double meat Jalapeno cheese burger intake. (Super size with a diet coke......I'm watching my weight). I tried Atkins(Fatkins)/South Beach and lost weight fast, but felt like cr*p. Looked into Medifast but way too much money and not convenient for me to eat all the time. So I decided to go back to the only weight loss program I have ever lost on BFL. I started BFL on Monday April 27th took my before pictures that morning. That night I typed in www.eatingforlife.com Bills website after he left EAS and up popped T.com. So I read and read and read till the wee hours of the morning. Got up and did my cardio on Tuesday morning, and decided to follow the T.com way of doing it. Completed assignment one, read 2 and 3 pretty much the same as BFL now on to assignment 4 the reason. Now looking back on my history I can see that I have not connected with the true value in my weight loss. Yes you will look better, but looks are not everything. Why did I want to look better??? Because I was embarrassed by how I looked. I lacked pride in myself with my outward appearance. So I really wanted to not only look better but also feel better about myself. Feel proud of myself, not ashamed to go out in public without my shirt on(which never happened even at a water park I had my trusty t-shirt on...because I sunburn easily....yeah that is the ticket). So reasons for change are as followes: 1) Better self esteem. To show true Joy to the world, so much so that others will want to say. "How did you become so Happy?" I'll show you....... Be a joyous person to all who you come in contact with. If I get cut off in traffic, instead of giving the All American One Fingered Salute, say a prayer for the person so they get to their destination safe and sound, so they can start a transformation one day also. 2) Become Healthier and live a longer life to be there for my children and wife for many years to come. I want to halt any damage I have done to my body with my unhealthy living and start to become younger by reversing damage and building a healthier body, one that will show other that they too can transform. All they have to do is start, and i'll and the T.com community will be there to help them every step of the way. 3) To develop true inner peace, to be happy and to show that happiness to my family(and the world) in a way to show them that they too can be happy. Our family has become a grumpy family as of late. Complaining about every little thing that goes wrong, not looking at all the blessings we have in our life. 4) To transform my family into a healthier/happier family. I'll start on myself and then go to someone else. Then branch out to the rest of the family. Transforming families one at a time. This will transform the country. I truly hope to change the younger generation in our family, to show them happiness and allow them to find it also. My daughter in particular I'd like to change her from being one who looks on the negative in life to one who focusus on the positive. That way if someone slights you, you won't let them steel you joy. In fact you will have so much joy that you could share it with them and be a change in their life. 5) Rededicate my life to what ever Gods mission is for me. I can say I truly don't know what God wants of me. Because I have not stopped to listen to him when I pray. I'll have to not only pray to ask for something or some blessing, but I'll have to pray for wisdom and the ability to see what it is that he has in store for me. Rededicate myself to daily quite time with the Lord, not just at bedtime, but a set time to listen to him. That is the list for now. I'm sure I'll find other reasons for change in the future. You life is ever evolving and to God you are a work in progress.

My purpose for this transformation. Is to be a role model to my family. I want to transform into a beautiful fun loving happy energetic person that I know I can be. I want to be a awesome parent. I want to be satisfied mentally and spiritually and physically with my life. I want to defy curiosity. I want to continue learning. I want to transform my life so I can transform others. I want to inspire those who suffer from depression. I want to see myself the way God sees me.

My purpose is to be the best me that I can be, live to my full potentential. I have overcome many things in my life, I lost a husband and gained a drug problem, I lost my kids because of the drug problem, and then I saw the light. I fought really hard to get over drugs and get my kids back, while I was doing this I learned to be grateful for the little things and the rest will come. I am now 3 years clean, I have my kids and I try to be the best mom possible, I found a great man who loves me with all of his heart, I now work really hard to take care of all the people that I love so much, and I am so grateful I am able to do that. However, some where along the way I forgot to be grateful for myself and to take care of myself. So my purpuse is not just to make everyone else but it is to make me happy!!! I want to be the best me I can and in the long run I hope that I can help others to be the best that they can as well.

My purpose for this challenge is summed up by a quote from Brian Tracy. "When you develop yourself to the point where your belief in yourself is so strong that you know you can accomplish anything you put your mind to, your future will be unlimited." — Brian Tracy: Pre-eminent sales and entrepreneurship expert.

I am thrilled to share my purpose of this transformation journey with you. I struggled for so long wondering what exactly was my purpose. I thought I knew, for so long I thought it was to help children (as a foster parent) others in fitness (as a fitness instructor) After 15 weeks into my 2nd challenge I realize my purpose in taking this transformation journey is to better myself so that I can help others. Yes I was helping but I see now that I had so many issues, so many hang-ups that I honestly don’t know how I was helping them when I was struggling to help myself. On April 26th I wrote this in my blog: I am really getting it, no I got it! After the 1st challenge I kept asking questions about the questions in the challenge and people said you would be in a different place so the questions will be answered differently. I wasn't in a different place and that's why I couldn't get it, I figured I would be answering the same questions and had the same old answers, what good would that do me? But I did the challenge and for the 1st 14 weeks I was on and off, feeling on top the world then out of this world, them bam like a ton of bricks fell from the sky and hit me on the head in my 15th week. I realized so much, it all dawned on me basically at one time. My mistakes, my anger my defensive mode, my hiding, my struggling and yes, MY EGO. I knew I had problems but an ego problem. Yes I do and that's what haunted me and held me down from progressing for so many years. I have a lot of work ahead of me, I am not the change yet, but I am becoming the change. I said things to my family and they say, duh, we have been trying to tell you that for years, I had an attitude that people would rather walk away then fight with me. I stood my ground never to give in that would be giving up. BOY OH BOY was I wrong I am free from anger, I'm no longer afraid, I feel fearless, I am a walking example, my mind is clear I can see past my own nose. WOW WHAT A Feeling! I end this challenge on May 10th, and start Round 2 on May 11th, this will be my 3rhd challenge and I realize now it's a lifetime journey not just for the body but for the mind to grow and become something greater then you ever expected. I am so excited I can't wait to see what the next 2 weeks and then the next challenge and the next bring. I see the big picture now and its clarity is awesome. I see how I came into this challenge last July not just reisting change and wondering why or what I needed to change but as Champion Shane told me I came in fighting and kicking and screaming. It’s almost a year and while I did make a lot of progress during the 1st challenge, the 2nd challenge began to unfold before my eyes and let me begin to see the changes. Now 15 weeks into this challenge I not only see but also feel the changes taking place deep within me. I feel re-newed, born again; complete yet I know I am not complete. I have a long way to go and I’m not there yet, but by the time I get to heaven I will be. I have finally begun to grow and I will continue my spiritual growth as long as I shall live. My purpose is to put others 1st and not be selfish, to give and not look to receive, to forgive when I said I would, not to go back and rehash things all over again. To see the beauty in everyone, even if they are critizeming me take it constructive not as a put down. Stop being so sensitive to words. Stop looking for approval in everyone for everything I do. God is the only one I need to answer to. I need to accept others as they are as they accept me. I need to overlook things sometimes, no one is perfect. Love thy neighbor as thy self and feel the spirit inside me to be obientant to God and help HIM spread HIS message. Love who I am and what God has created in me. Be grateful and thankful for what I have (I have so much more then others). Most of all use the tools HE gave me to chisel out the potential in myself to help others and help make this world a better place. In this process I need to be patient yet preserve. I realized it’s not about what or me accomplishments I have made, but who and how I can help someone else make their accomplishments. It feels good inside to know you helped someone. Mr. George is one of my 88-year-old Senior citizens in the seniorsneakers class I teach. It is giving me great joy to stay after class with him to help him do exercises to help strengthen his legs. Walking him to his car is so simple yet he appreciates the help so erenest. So what’s the point? The point is: I realized I am taking this Journey to really transform myself at my deepest most intense level.

Ok, this is hard to share with so many people and may be too detailed but for me this is "why?" I need to be here although I don't blame others for my issues I want to be free of them......The weight gain and (sometimes)depression come from a life of crape and living by accident with NO real meaning! I am here because I need to find purpose. This is my story & ultimately why I am overweight and un happy! My childhood until 8 years old (when adopted) was VERY difficult to say the least. My mom was on heroin and a stripper my little brother and I were taken from her! We had 2 foster families in which 1 we was abused. I looked for love threw sex after that and was pregnant @19. I dropped out of college and got married (he was on crack and abusive) but my parents had told me I couldnt live with them pregnant! Years later I married again and we both used cocaine and drank/fought a lot! I left him and paid for the divorce which was final in 2007. 2 months later he died in a car wreck (July 29 2007). I quit drugs but I got a DWI that summer and had DSS @ my door. In August 2008 I had an abortion (which I am not proud of). Then to top everything off I was laid-off in Jan 2009! My spirit is broken and change is necisary for me to change this pattern of living a CRAZY life! I have changed a lot in the past year (positively) but still it is only enough to scrape by! This is why I need transformation! Oh, I am friends with Elizabeth's dad and my birth mom now!!! This has made me cry so hard writting it down but - thanks : )

My purpose in life is to fully accept myself and others as they truly are, imperfect, quirky, and human. I want to live my life like I want to, not like everyone else. I want to be me. I want to be passionate about the things I enjoy and not have it matter if no one else feels the same way. I want to be open to the tears that flow at sad, sappy movies and not feel embarrassed. I want to be ok with the fact that I laugh the loudest in the movie theater and the longest at the funniest parts or be the only one who laughs at parts I think are funny. I want to extend permission to others to be who they are and not feel they have to hide that when they are around me. A quote from "The Veveteen Principles" I related to so much : "They spoke of feeling lost, invisible and unimportant. They didn't feel accepted and loved for who they were. And they felt both grief and the nagging sense that something vital was missing. Some described a physical sensation, saying they were "empty inside" or felt "like there's a pit in my stomach." " How many years I felt disconnected from myself and from you, my fellow man because of what had happened. I was too obssessed with the opinions of others what they thought of me and in my mind I always fell short. No more, I am a child of God and just as deserving as anyone else. So my purpose is to live in the now with respect for myself and for others and reach out and touch as many people who suffered as I have and HELP set them free, not only on this site but in the 3-D world. Freedom from my chains, my inner demons and so far I have broken quite a few of them with the help of many people here and in my real life. I will never walk this path again. FREE! FREE! FREE! Love You Guys, Mona

Bill~ This assignment really spoke to me. As I continually ponder my transformation goals, my purpose for Being the Change is clear in my head. I am ready to be healthy, happy, and inspire others to do the same. I am ready to prove myself wrong. I have been telling myself for years that I don't deserve to be happy, and it's too hard to be healthy. I will stop making excuses and start Living Strong!!! I definitely look forward to a stronger body. But, more importantly, I am ready to be strong spiritually and emotionally. I honestly see myself, one day, helping others through this Transformation process. I must first allow myself to be inspired by others in the Transformation community, do my best to set and achieve my goals, and truly Be the Change. Thank you for all you do!

My purpose for doing this transformation is for a few reasons that are said simply but have a lot of meaning behind them: I want to love myself completely, I want my son to want to reach his potential, and I want people to be excited to be around me.

The following line from this assignment really jumped of the page at me, “…how we’re showing up in the world each day is affecting the people around us for the better or for the worse… See, we can’t live an unhealthy life without hurting others in the process.” This relates to a huge aspect of my reason for wanting to make this transformation – one that I didn’t start off understanding fully, but have come to recognize as my transformation is evolving. I wasn’t simply not living up to my potential and harming myself in the process. The stakes are much higher than that for me. First, there’s my family. My wife and 2 small sons were taking the brunt of my irritability and dissatisfaction with how I was living. On top of that, I run a business with more than a dozen employees. How I show up in the world each day affects each of them too. And, when I’m Directing or Producing on the set, I’m in charge of dozens of crewmembers and actors, all of whom are affected by me and my actions. Now, truthfully, more distant associates and acquaintances never see the side my family sees. Unfortunately, it’s often those with whom we feel the most safe that we feel comfortable to do the most damage. But, of course, there’s a flip side to the level of responsibility I have in my life. I have the potential to have a great deal of positive influence on a lot of people. Each day that I both accept and take responsibility for my own health, each day that I follow through and honor my self promises, I get a little bit stronger. I get a little bit closer to being the change that I want to see and want to be. I’m already seeing the seeds I planted 8 weeks ago when I started the BFL challenge bearing fruit. A number of people including my wife, my kids, and my colleagues and associates are benefiting from the more positive, more radiant, more peaceful and joyous me. And, many of them are starting to inquire about how to get some of what I’ve got. Now, that’s cool!!! I’d be happy if my change could inspire one other person to be the change. If we could each do that, we would have a revolution on our hands and Bill’s goal of a million Transformers in this community is right around the corner. But, if I can inspire 10 – well, I’ll take it!!! I wrote at the top of a page, “Why do I want to make a transformation?” and allowed the answers to just flow. Here’s what I jotted down: To live up to my potential To stop running and hiding To be a leader – to provide a positive example for my wife, my kids, my friends, my employees, and everyone I can reach. To be healthy To look and feel great To be proud of myself for having the courage to change – the courage to go for it. To live out loud! To create self-confidence by honoring self-promises To live a life of honor and integrity where my actions match my beliefs and ideas To be the change in order to positively effect the lives of others

I am three years older today than my father was when he died in 1976 of a massive heart attack. I had just turned 16. I don’t dwell on it, but it occasionally makes me wonder if I am living on borrowed time. On the other hand, both of my grandfathers were blessed with long lives. One, a chain smoking alcoholic, lived to be 85; the other was 92. Like my father, I am overweight and have high blood pressure. Unlike him, apparently, I show no signs of coronary artery disease. I had a CAT scan of my heart done a year ago (EBCT) and it showed 0% calcium/plaque build-up. I remember being scared to death when the results came in the mail (never ask the question you don’t want to know the answer to, right?) and then feeling like I dodged a bullet when I opened the envelope and got the good news. Does the longevity gene skip a generation? Heck, my mother’s father probably would have lived to be 110 if he took even a little care of himself. Or… am I just whistling past the graveyard? I have accepted this challenge first for my family. I will no longer tempt fate. I will take control of my destiny, and God willing, be around for a very long time for my wife and kids. Second, I am doing this to be an example to my son. He turns 21 tomorrow and graduates from college later this month – after only three years - with his bachelor’s degree in cinematography and video production. He will be living in Los Angeles trying to make it in a very tough industry. I am so proud of him. He is smarter, more talented, more confident, and more passionate about his future than I could have ever dreamed of being when I was his age. In many ways, he’s not like me at all; in others – some good, some not so good - we’re practically clones. He has weight issues too. I think at least part of the reason why is that he sees my 49 year old self as his destiny. Can’t fight genetics, right? I’m doing this because I want to show him a different destiny ready for the taking. I know he will be successful in whatever he sets his mind to. I also know that when he puts the total package together – mind, body, and spirit – there will be absolutely no stopping him. Finally, I am doing this for me. I’m doing this to find genuine inner confidence that I have lost (or maybe never had) so I can go out into the world unafraid and live up to my potential. I’m not 21 anymore, but when I put the total package together, before my 50th birthday, there’ll be no stopping me either.

My purpose of this transformation is to prove everyone in my family as well as myself that I too can lose the weight with the proper excerise and eating the right foods. My dad says its in my genes to look like him and that what I am doing is not going to change. Well I got news for him,it has and there is no turning back for me. I haven't seen my dad since I started this and he is going to be very surprise when he does see me. I feel totally great . Terry

WOW, this question was WAY harder for me then I would have thought it to be...it took me MANY days to even have the mindset to sit down and actually tackle it....I don't know why this was so hard for me, but initially I really didn't know why I wanted to do this beyone the outer changes that I wanted to make, however, after the first few days of browsing I knew I wanted SO much more than just the outer appearance to change....I craved the inner changes even more! I am 42 and really don't know who I am...I know the basics that everyone else knows, but deep down I am not really sure of my purpose here. I see others and I want to be them...I've never really wanted to just be ME. When I first found T.com I saw Clarissa's page pretty early on and instantly that's who I wanted to be....RIGHT NOW.....well, now I realized I want to be the one who does the hard work and I want to be the one to make the changes inside and out and I just want to be me.......ONLY MUCH BETTER!! I am a caring, loving person, but I can also be very judgmental and I WILL conquer that in this challenge. I can already see those changes happening within. I will gain more self confidence and I will finally shake the worry I constantly have about what others think about me. I have lived for 42 years with the fear that I'm not liked, not pretty enough, not smart enough, etc....I was always looking for MORE and I have to be happy with what I've got and quit always thinking there is more....there is more, but it is IN me, not outside of me!! I am so glad I finally made this breakthrough on this assignment because I've been hanging back for the entire last week and not participating too much because I felt I had already failed and I had barely started. I will make these changes and I will learn who I am inside and I will better myself. I will finish this challenge strong and I will develop a stronger relationship with God. That is another thing I've not had much of in my life and I have to admit it makes me a bit uncomfortable to talk about it at all, but when I see others talking about it so freely I realize that He is the source from which we all come and there is no reason to feel discomfort AT ALL when realizing that is who I should be focusing on more in my life. OK, now that I've rambled I will condense this down in to a 'purpose statement' and write it down, post it on my home page and LIVE it.....now on to the transforming!! Thank You Bill for having us all here and helping us so much to realize our full potential in life!!!

I have to admit that I struggled with assignment 4. What is the purpose for making the transformation? I've spent time writing, thinking, and choosing my top goals, one of which was finishing the 18 week transformation. Why didn't I say "winning" the challenge? After all, this is a competition. Have I not reached that point of breaking through the fear of achievement and success. Why did I automatically discount the fact I wouldn't win? I wonder if other people think this way. I do want to win. I do want the prizes. I want the feelings that go along with not only accomplishing the task but being able to accept the feelings of winning the competition. This is my hurtle. Does this come from years of training myself to be apathetic towards achievement and settling for "seconds". What an absolute, crappy feeling. I'm beginning to understand that confidence starts at a base level with everybody. It has to start somewhere, right? This was me, daily equating the way my unfit body looked compared to thin people, compared to other fat people. Thats right I said the F word, fat people. A person I work with who is fat, spoke to me in the company of others that like him, I should get a CPAP machine (Continuous positive airway pressure), to prevent snoring at night. It wasn't the fact that he told me to get this machine. I'm sure the CPAP helps many people in wonderous ways. But Wow, could you call me a fatty any louder in the presence of others? Don't even tell me that accepting this transformation doesn't start at a base human level. I was PISSED! The feelings I had at that minute were of shame, embarrassment, I was an average, lazy slob. I know I can have better feelings. I understand my purpose for this transformation is the feelings that I will receive from building my physique, replacing old habits with new healthy ones, making great friendships, mastering confidence, and most importantly to me, overcoming fears of achievement and success. I want to win. -Round Justice

The purpose of this transformation for me is to uncover my potential. Deep down inside I know that I have an amazing body, curious mind, deep compassion, and a genuine spirit. Years of self doubt, addiction, lack of confidence, envy, and negativism have covered up my better self. I am here now to begin the process of peeling back those covers and unlocking my potential. Thank you Bill for providing me a forum to do so.

I have looked back over my life so many times and I recognise all the experiences that have kept me stuck...But that was then!I am accountable now! I just feel like somthing has changed inside me,,.what? I dont know?I am not particulary religous, but I have a great awareness, I hope you know what I mean, as I dont feel I am articulating my feelings to well, I find it very difficult to do written reflection. Over the past few years during my nurse training and through my own persinal experiences, I have become very aware of death and dieing. Just recently two woman, who I knew passed away, they were the same age as me, and they too had children! This makes me appreciate what I have even more. So to me, the purpose of this transformation means, to live, love, be happy and to be present and not waste another moment of my very blessed life.-Tonya

Honoring my mother's life in the way I manifest myelf in everyday's activities.... Honoring the knowledge of what it means to a role model to those that still suffer from the effects of bipolar disorder, osteoarthritis.... Honoring that inner voice iin me that is my spirtiual force guidng me to do my personal best....

My transformation purpose is..... to stop dreaming, and start living. With each new day God gives me I will live it to my full potential. I will become the best I possibly can. ~ Fiona

God (Lift Others) My Family Increase My Networth

My Transformation Purpose is to prove to myself that I can be a healthy, fit, kind hearted person. With out the use of pill, starvation, or some weird diet. I have know so many woman who have sacrificed there health for the sake of being skinny. They use shuly are still unhappy. And I just have to believe that I can do this. I can be a woman of great health, a woman who loves herself & others.I do this because I need to know I can trust myself &, my decisions. I am worth it! And the only way I can influence others to become the healthy them. Is I would have to be that for myself first.

Okay, yet another revision. My body is meant to be a temple for God. The shape I allowed myself to reach last year was an eye-sore, not a temple. Therefore, my purpose is: - to be a testament to God's glory in body and spirit - to show my kids that healthy and active bodies help them to live happy lives - to find inspiration in all areas of my life - and to inspire others in my life to lead happy and healthy lives.

I tried to write somthing off the top of my head... it aint that easy. What is my purpose?????Im going to find a pen and paper, I will get back to you soon-Tonya

AssignmentFour My purpose for this transformation is to truly love myself and to continue to grow in vibrant good health, beauty, and vitality. When I reach my goal : I honor the commitments and promises I make to myself and prove to myself that I can achieve whatever I believe and dream and that truly all things are possible. I accomplish things I only dreamed of for years. I leave behind, futility, pessimism, powerlessness and fear and take on my true power to make change and inspire others. I am not on a program that ends, but have incorporated the change into my lifestyle, as a fit, athletic Zumba instructor, dancer, and outdoor adventurer. I am an exemplar of healthy aging. This is how I choose to live and I love it! My calm, faith, determination and serenity radiate from me and I am open and loving to those around me. I continue to grow in my inner transformation, giving to myself as much as others. I say no when I need to, so that I am not overwhelmed by work and that I balance work with fun. I put my needs first and I have no lingering feelings of inadequacy and self-loathing to hinder my progress. My inner beauty is reflected in my outer looks and I have no handicaps to finding my life partner and true love. I am surrounded by loving friends, family, and colleagues and supported by my life partner in my journey of growth.

Acknowledging that my own motivations, my reasons for transforming can change, I have reviewed and revised my Assignment 4. Much simpler, much shorter than what I had before, but I think it's also more honest and heart-felt. I am sick of just surviving, existing day to day. I am ready to live my life and embrace my freedom in accordance with God's will. I wish to bring my daily life more in line with God's purpose for me. I need strength and courage to rediscover my calling, my purpose in life. I want to inspire my children, encourage healthy lives for them, and to be the best father I can possibly be.

Sounds like a deep thought, but if you really think about it... There was either one thing or a combination of things that brought you to.... I guess you would call it a breaking point and you decided you needed a change in the direction you were heading. Maybe it was a health reason, work related stress, all those forces out there that unwelcome stresses in our lives.... I'll post my experience in my blog ( I'm still not sure if I should be posting my assignments here in the comment section, or just blog each assignment, maybe it doesn't really matter how I do it...) Take care!

Sounds like a deep thought, but if you really think about it... There was either one thing or a combination of things that brought you to.... I guess you would call it a breaking point and you decided you needed a change in the direction you were heading. Maybe it was a health reason, work related stress, all those forces out there that unwelcome stresses in our lives.... I'll post my experience in my blog ( I'm still not sure if I should be posting my assignments here in the comment section, or just blog each assignment, maybe it doesn't really matter how I do it...) Take care!

I have a few very clear goals in life: to protect and improve the environment so generations to come can enjoy the world as I have; to provide access to education for women and girls in developing countries; to be a great friend, a champion and cheerleader for the people I love and the people who love me. I know I can't do anything of these things until I truly value and trust myself. So, my purpose is to feel strong and confident in who I am and what I can accomplish.

My purpose is to find myself.I've been lost for years,I really dont know who I am right now.I want to be healthy,happy,fufilled,beautiful,the possibilities are endless..More to come.... Always...Angela...Keep Smilin...

Why am I doing this challenge? If you would have gave me this assignment 2 weeks ago, my response would have been "to win $10,000 and lose weight". I have now come to the realization that even though this is what drew me to this website, the fact of the matter is that I was ashamed and completely dead inside. I had become a pessimistic introvert who had disconnected from all my friends and most of my family and who believed that all of my problems were everyone elses fault but my own. I seemed to be sleepwalking through life with no sense of direction or purpose and my spiritual connection with God had ceased to exist. Now, thanks to this dear community, I realize that I was searching. Searching to find my way back to God, Searching for myself. Searching for something to give me hope in this sometimes crazy world in which we live in. I now believe that the true reason I committed to this challenge is to find myself, my purpose, health, vitality, Oneness with my Higher Power....PEACE. I believe with all my heart that as I keep moving forward with my assignments and sharing with all of my T.Com family, I will get to know myself again, over come my fears, and discover my passion. My heart is bursting with gratitude for all that everyone of you has given me since I joined this loving community just a few weeks ago. And Bill Phillips....YOU ARE THE REAL DEAL. I am truly blessed to be touched by your amazing spirit. Thank you so much for taking us all under your wing and guiding us to the path to finding ourselves. All of our spirits, caring for each other and sharing in this human experience here on earth. Oneness, peace, love, happiness. YOU HAVE SAVED MY LIFE. MY SOUL IS SOARING!

My transformation purpose had been a long time in the making. I have grown spiritually in the last two years, but the negative aspects of my life kept haunting me. My purpose is to be confident, comfortable and proud of me in my skin and in every aspect of my life. I want to live a health life and inspire those around me to care as much about their lives and health as I do. This is a worth while jorney and I intend to see it through with gusto!!

I am going to think about this one. You are right, it needs to be more than just a physical change. It has to be mental as well. I was thinking about it. If I do not transform mentally as well as physically than I will shortly be back in the same boat I am now. I am already disgusted with myself for being in the place I am. This transformation has to be all encompassing. It needs to include my mentality, my physical changes, and a spititual change as well.

I thought if I completed another 12 week challenge maybe this time I will be happy. If I had the perfect body that would bring me happiness. My friends think I have it all together because I'm not overweight, if they only knew how I feel and that I was dying on the inside. This Transformation I want to learn to love myself. I'm tired of beating myself up for mistakes I've made in the past. I want to finally forgive myself. I'm a good person and deserve to be happy. I know if I heal on the inside and work on positive thinking the rest will all come together. I WANT TO BE THE CHANGE! Cheri

This assignment #4 will be on my blog April 2009. It is going to take me a while to think this through.

Transformation Challenge Assignment #4 The Power of Purpose Whew! What an awakening this exercise turned out to be for me. When Bill said in explaining this assignment that "we have to stop living accidentally and start living intentionally", it really hit home and I felt he was talking straight to me. I had to do some soul searching and look deeply into my life, past and present. I did not know where to start and I truly questioned myself. "Why am I here?" "What is the point of it all?" and "What purpose is it that I serve?" I don't know just when it happened, but somewhere along my journey....I got lost. The person I had one time known disappeared. I just lost myself. When I had my children..I found a little of myself again. So, then over my adult years, if you asked me the question, "What is your purpose?" I would answer..."my purpose is my kids." I felt as if I functioned primarily for them, minute to minute, hour to hour, day to day, week to week, month to month, year to year and so on....I was surviving for my boys, lost otherwise with the exception of them....or so I thought.... But then as I read on down in this assignment, I was very convicted and almost horrified when Bill said, "living an unhealthy, negative life not only hurts and affects ourselves, but it hurts the ones closest to us that we love the most." Ouch!! Here I was answering this question about my sole purpose in life just to be shot down in shame. In essence, I was hurting and scarring and abusing those gifts that I loved the most in my entire world.....my sweet, wonderful boys. Well, I started weeping...but there was no denying the absolute truth!! In that moment I vowed to myself that I NEVER want to live that way again.....I NEVER again want to be that person. So, I started to dig into the stores of my mind. My question became...."Who is the person I want and need to be?" "What will my transformation purpose be?" My answer....I WILL BE THE CHANGE!!! +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ My Transformation Purpose Is: To Honor God - I will make it my purpose to honor my God by choosing to live each day to the fullest. I will embrace each moment I am given and I will be grateful for my blessings. I will bring positive energy into my life and allow it to flow from me making my life a witness of joy, peace and contentment. To Be My Greatest Self - I will make it my purpose to become the best Timberly I can be.....body, mind and spirit. I will diligently work towards health and vitality by treating myself as a temple knowing that the mirrored reflection I see is truth and wellness. I will focus on finding peace in my mind that has so long been held in captivity as a slave to depression. I will nurture my spirit by reading, writing, enjoying nature, being of service, and having an open mind to progress. To Love My Family & Friends - I will make it my purpose to be an excellent wife, mother, daughter, sister, family member and friend. I will do this by sharing unconditional love and support to the most important people in my life. I will strive to encourage and be a living example by choosing to be healthy, positive, and thankful for my abundant blessings. To Intentionally Help Others - I will make it my purpose to be a giver and helper. I will show others that with diligence. persistence and hard work that we can come through trials and tragedies to victory more than just survivors, but overcomers. I plan to become a counselor, motivator and mentor to those who have suffered childhood abuses, mental illness and obesity so we can journey together to personal triumph. I have been richly blessed with people who have and are walking this path with me, and I plan to pay it forward. I also plan to be a volunteer, giving of myself to improve my home, my school, my community, and my world. To Leave A Legacy of Love & Hope - I will make it my purpose to invest in things that will last longer and endure past the time when my physical body leaves this earth. I will invest in love and hope. I will invest in my children, my children's children, my extended family and friends, my written words, my poetry, my music, my art, and my animals....honoring, giving, living and loving. I promise myself that I will leave a legacy so my future generation of family and friends will have been proud to have known me. My greatest legacy will not be money or glory, but to have left this life making sure my husband and my children, my family and my friends know they were truly, undoubtedly and without question, loved by me. hugs 2 u all :) timberly

This is truly a thought provoking assignment, I could have written for pages but put the words down in the most provoking way to me. My Transformation purpose is to get healthy and live the life I am meant to live, to watch my kids grow up and become adults in a healthy environment and to grow old with my wife who has stood by me through thick and thin. In a deeper sense I am doing this to eliminate doubt in my life and to erase that nagging feeling that I will fail that follows me around when I set out to do something. To stop being embarrassed of who I am and accomplish what I know I can. I want to let the spiritual, loving energetic, fun and outgoing person who I keep trapped inside out.

So, after much reflection and thought, I believe I have developed my statement of purpose for assignment #4: “My life is a truly extraordinary gift, and my purpose is to be worthy of that gift by living an extraordinary life that inspires others to live extraordinary lives the same way that I have been inspired.” I think this encapsulates the principle of reciprocity and illustrates how I have been inspired by others and want to do the same. This purpose is stronger than I what I had before. My prior purpose had been one rooted deeply in defiance. I wanted to be better than those who teased me when I was younger. I wanted to be better than those who tried to control me now. The defiance was a lasting purpose – it has served me for 6 years and more, but it has taken me to dark places from time to time. The “prize” was one of domination. Always trying to dominate your fellow human beings is a shallow, shallow thing, and true self honesty indicates to me that it is a very fleeting and hollow thing. It has led me to places that are destructive, places I no longer wish to be. A course of defiance is not congruent with being truly confident. A truly confident person is able to look at the past, at those experiences where he/she was pushed down, and realize he/she was able to work through it, and forgive. A course of defiance is not congruent with being a forgiving, Christian person. I have allowed a strong judgmental streak to form in my psyche. This transformation will quash that streak. My purpose will help me leave such things far behind me. My purpose is a celebration of the greatest gift I have been given. I can best show my appreciation and gratitude for this gift by helping others to make the most out of their gift. Thank you Lord for the blessings in my life and for the clarity to find purpose.

Great question. My transformation purpose is to get healthy, incredibly healthy . Both of my parents were smokers - my father had his first heart attack when he was 45, and died when he was 56. My mother died of emphysema when she was 75. I so regret that I didn't have longer with them, that they hadn't made healthier choices so that they would be here now to see my kids grow up. I've never been a smoker, EVER, and I always encourage everyone I meet to quit. But sometimes in life I haven't made the healthiest choices either- too much couch time, too much junk food. Stupid. So, I want to do everything I can to insure that I will be around for my kids for a very long time.

My Transformation purpose is to start living the way I was meant to. To finally succeed at something I have been putting off for 10 years.

Transformation Purpose is to get healthy, stay healthy and to help others get healthy and stay healthy. I want to show my child how to live by living, not by telling; I want to show my husband I love him by the way I love myself; My purpose is to stay spiritually connected. The unhelathy food and unhealthy behavior are just a wall to keep me from connecting with my Higher Power and the people I love the most in my life. I once was in great shape, and had a great connection with my God, but over the years I have put my son and husband before myself, and we have ALL suffered. I have to replace my fear with Faith and know that if I do the footwork, and I reach for my goal by the deadline I will succeed with God's help. I hope I can stay strong and keep going even through adversaty.

To work hard at something and, not only succeed, but fulfill a goal I've wanted for a long time. To, also, realize that I am worth it! Bottom line, stop breaking promises to myself.

I decided that I wanted to be as concise as possible in my tranformation purpose, so I could use it like a mantra, to keep me focused. Here it is: Once transformed, I will be free of the limiting beliefs that prevent positive, lasting change. Once freed of these limiting beliefs, I will: Act based upon the idea that anything is possible; Lose my fixation on self, and focus that energy on others; Inspire others to transform, seeing what I have accomplished

True transformation is genuine, but something far different than what I have really wanted up to this point. For three years I have fought an internal war between what my spirit tells me to do and what my soul (emotional/mental self) wants to do. What “I” want is vain and selfish, but that constant gnawing within tells me there is more. This is a tough Assignment, because I feel that fight waging even as I type. Am I really ready to yield to the higher call or is this only about my body? Selfishness is deeply rooted within me, but I also realize my choices, guided by a defined purpose, can dictate whether that selfishness is in control or not. I want my spirit, that communication mechanism with God, to control me. I want my soul and body to yield to it. So, today, before I write my transformation purpose, I yield my life to God and His Kingdom, believing that is the better way. With that decided and said, below is my purpose: My purpose for transformation is to reflect God’s glory by spiritually living for the highest good of God and others, emotionally being authentic, transparent and unselfish, and physically being healthy, lean and fit.

As I began to think about my body, my mind and my spirit, the word squander came to mind. >You don't want to squander your wonderful life… – Prov. 5:7 (The Message) Mark a life of discipline and live wisely; don't squander your precious life. – Prov. 8:32 (The Message) We can't afford to waste a minute, must not squander these precious daylight hours in frivolity and indulgence. – Romans 13:11 (The Message) “…didn't you realize that your body is a sacred place, the place of the Holy Spirit? Don't you see that you can't live however you please, squandering what God paid such a high price for? The physical part of you is not some piece of property belonging to the spiritual part of you. God owns the whole works. So let people see God in and through your body. – 1 Corinth 6:16 (The Message) He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. – Isaiah 53:5 (NLT) Companions as we are in this work with you, we beg you, please don't squander one bit of this marvelous life God has given us. - 2 Corinth 6:1 (The Message) Although I considered myself pretty “whole & healthy” and I try to maintain a relatively disciplined life, I realized that there were areas in my life that I was not developing to their fullest potential. There were areas of my life that I was squandering away. Areas that God created to be strong, vibrant, healthy and purposeful and I wasn’t growing them and developing them as I should be. I realized that everyone around me “picks fruit” from the “Brian Tree”, whether I am intentional about it or not. So, I asked myself – what kind of “fruit” am I offering in each area of my life – mentally, spiritually and physically? Am I putting my best foot forward and presenting to those around me the best “fruit” that I possibly can? The answer was “No.” There was more to Brian Hetzer. I’ve got better “fruit” – I’ve just been holding back and that’s selfish. So, for me, Transformation means to grow and develop into the most healthy, whole and complete “Brian Tree” I can be in body, in mind and in spirit, so that when people come to pick the “fruit” from my tree, they walk away with a tasty morsel - one that is healthy, edible and enjoyable. I don’t like a piece of rotten fruit and neither does anyone else. I desire my “fruit” to be YUMMY - to be all that I wrote on my Assignment #1 After Picture – more confident in God’s love for me, strong, deeper in relationships, balanced life, strong encourager, be my “Original Design” and live fearlessly.

My purpose for Transformation is to grow internally for the better, producing stronger characteristics such as integrity, compassion and strength. To be healthy and fit so I can be active, energetic & enjoy life more. I so want to live intently and with purpose! To overcome wrong, abusive, negative hurtful thoughts. To become a genuine inspiration to enable me to truly inspire others. To be & live how God created me to live and be. To finally know the feeling of reaching my weight loss goals no matter what or where the journey takes me or how long. Not giving up on my goals regardless of the outside circumstances. To have a strong body to support my back, knees and spine. To feel good about myself knowing I did it and will continue to live healthy. And to be proud of myself. Thanks Bill that was an awesome Assignment. It took alot of thought and all didn't feel so great. But it certainly helps put things in the right perspective. I wrote out three pages of notes!

I have always lived my life in reaction to circumstances! Always in a panic to find a way out of the current crisis, never coming from a position of balance and readiness and purpose. I'm so happy to have landed here at T.com. In just the couple of weeks since I started the Challenge in earnest I feel the support of a whole community behind me. I feel myself becoming really grounded for the first time. I'm going to give this assignment my all. No more accidental living for me.

My transformation purpose is to finally treat my body like a temple. The last sermon that my Grandfather preached was about this subject. I have that sermon on tape and like to listen to it when I work out. I have been dishonering God by treating my body this way. I want to be as strong and beautiful on the outside as I am on the inside. I want to motivate others and make them stronger. My biggest purpose is to keep myself and family healthy in the future.

The purpose of my transformation is to help me feel good both on the outside and on the inside. I want my physical body to inspire others (especially my husband and kids), to have them ask questions, which will not only help them understand how the body changes were made, but to help them see that there are inside changes too! I want my inner spirit to shine through, even more than the new physical changes. I want to be a light for those who are struggling in and out. Of course, I'd also like to be smokin' hot in a bikini too!

The purpose of my transformation is finding my true self; the one God designed me to be. As my body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, it is my duty to take care of it with proper diet, exercise and spiritual practice. Through this journey of transformation, I plan to enrich my relationship with God as I learn to embrace His plans for me and how I can most effectively serve Him, my family and my community. I plan to lose 15 pounds of body fat while gaining lean muscle and learning how to "Eat for Life." I would like to inspire my family and patients with my healthy lifestyle and better live out my faith life in my community exuding positive energy wherever I go!

The reason for my transformation is because I want to live a more positive lifestyle. I know I need to be happier for the sake of my family, friends and that special person in my life. What exactly will bring about this happiness is complicated. I think it is a combination of wanting more respect for accomplishments but I don’t feel like I have reached my goals in life the way I should. Something has stopped me from truly reaching down deep inside to really push myself forward. That is going to change.

Ok. My purpose is to heal my unhealthy mind set, to have the energy to live my best life instead of watching life from the sidelines, and to inspire my family to reach for the stars. I am making myself accountable by....taking my father to New Mexico at the end of April to ride horses on the Pecas River. I've also scheduled a mid-year Christmas event with my kids and grandbabies to go to wolf lodge July 31 to play at the water park. It's already planned now, which puts me in a bathing suit for the first time in 25 years in a public place. And finally I will start training for the Denver marathon on May 18 (my birthday) and see everyone there. I'm learning that to acheive something, I need to set a date and make it happen.

Bill thank you for this assignment. I feel like this a few times during my week. So I will write down my since of purpose and what this challenge is about to me on a piece of paper and it will go in my wallet and the next time I feel like no purpose why go on? I will read my since of purpose paper.I believe that if one seeks from the outside of oneself one might find the reasons why.But if one searches the soul one will find the answers to how. I am not in this for money, fame, or any type of unrealistic gain. I just want to be able to clean out the garbage in my life and help where I can. But it all starts here with oneself for another to others. Mahalo Brahdda man!

When I look beyond that I want to lose the weight and ask myself 'WHY' do I want to improve my health? WHY do I want to feel toned and strong, I get a glimps of what is in my heart and my leaky spirit. I am glad for this opportunity to have the courage and strength to open myself up and finally take a look at my "WHY".

This assignment has been a hard one for me. But I finally have my pupose. I wrote the whole thing in my blogs under Assignment #4 if your interested in reading it. Thank you Bill. The deeper I get into this transformation the more I believe.

Being overweight and out of shape has been such a challenge and distraction to me throughout most of my life. I've cheated myself from so many opportunities because of this distraction which has also had a negative impact on many of the people I love. It's time to be the change. My Transformation purpose is to literally transform my mind, body and spirit into a healthy, happy, balanced being so I can live free from those things that have distracted me from living life to the fullest. As I go through this journey, my hope and clear intention is to inspire others in their journey in life. I was really touched by your words Bill where you said, "We can't live an unhealthy life without hurting others in the process. And when we live a healthy, positive life, we are always lifting others up along with us!"

Well I've got those mirriors up!! I just jioned a week & 1/2 ago & I'm starting to enjoy lil extra energy I'm getting from my work outs also I'm tickled pink I've lost three lbs. & looking as, I go forward to shedding lots more!! Thanks again Bill for this site & nice people!! Chris

Purpose for BEING this Transformation: To come out of hiding. I've been running and hiding from my fears and success all of my life. I lived in the shadow of my father, a man I never felt I could please or make proud of me because he never chose time with me over anything else. Letting my fear of inadequacy run my life. Losing first my High School Sweetheart after a very short marriage, and then my 2nd wife after a long love less marriage, both I blamed totally on myself only deepened my sense of worthlessness. During those years I was actually enjoying a wonderful career as a Nurse. And was climbing a ladder of success and service to my patients. Spiritually I wasn't always clear but I was faithful and trusting. I loved God. I, however, held myself back in my career due to feelings of inadequacy. I was still climbing, but climbing slowly. Sometimes being pulled up the ladder by Administrators who thought more of my abilities than I did. I became a workaholic out of fear that I would let my bosses down and, because of my deteriorating home life. After my 2nd divorce I was alone for awhile. I hid behind my fat body to avoid getting close to anyone again. Finally, I found the greatest love of my life in my third wife. Wasn't looking, but we found each other. Everything was great for about three years then I had a series of strokes that took away my health, my income, and my career. With that too my primary means of service to others. I got angry with God over different things. One of which was, yes, I was thankful for him bringing me my wife, without her love, strength, and her advocacy for me I would never have survived. But so much I lost in exchange. Why, for once couldn't I have both sides of happiness? I've struggled getting my physical body back in shape for five years now. I've lost a net 70 lbs. from the time I got out of Rehab. 100 lbs. from the time of the stroke. I had lost 40 more lbs but recently gained them back over the last year and 1/2 of severe depression before joining T.com. (Math is Highest wt = 370, Lowest = 230, present wt = 270) Bottom line: My purpose is to come out from hiding from my fears of inadequacy, success, and failure by conquering those fears and growing emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually. To regain one of the most important missions of my Nursing career; through Transformation, giving of myself in a non-selfish, loving, caring way so others can find peace, love, and healing and the how to pass it on. And through them, continue to enrich my life so I can help even more people (Man serves God my serving man). What I expect will result is I will become a better Husband, father, servant of God, and friend. David

I am John Lucas, a member of the Transformation.com community, and I am here to grow my confidence, energy, and spirit to overwhelming levels - to grow in Faith, the living, daring confidence in God's grace - to grow into the healthy, giving, responsible man I have yet to become. The man that will overcome any anger or depression to be there for his wife, his three sons, his family, his friends, and his community. To be a living inspiration for, and living witness of their mental, spiritual, and physical successes, and triumphs - to share in their joy when the miracles of love, marriage, birth, and family happen in their lives, and to be the strong, caring, loving, shoulder to carry them, heart to uplift them, and voice to guide them in their times of need, failure, sorrow, sickness, or pain. Thank you Bill for this opportunity, and for your inspiration to grow and change my life.

Bill, I had many surface purposes, but digging deeper, they were shallow. I want my life to emulate God's love. I want to help others achieve their goals and God's will for their life. I want to be a role model to those trying to make their way through this world. I want to have passion in my life and stopping being the tired man sitting on the side lines.

My purpose for making the transformation is so I can start living, really living and to make sure I have a long happy life with my beautiful wife!

My purpose for making the Transformation is so that I can live life to the full. I want to BE THE CHANGE and I GET TO make this transformation for those that are unable to.

It was almost embarrassing how simple my purpose became once I could knock all the other stuff away that was distracting me. Sure I had the "good role model" "be healthy" goals. In fact still do. /but after some deep processing, I have a very simple purpose: I am a child of God, He has instilled in me all that I need to meet His expectations. I am committed to living my Life as God would have me. Thinking, writing, acknowledging this has freed me from so many burdens it is unbelieveable. I do have a lengthy description of who that person is and will post it in my blog. I read it multiple times a day.

This was a great assignment. I really thought the pupose would be for just the weight loss, but looking deeper into it my purpose for doing this transformation is to be a better person spiritually, mentally and phisically. To be able to take on tough challenges and accompish them and know that I gave them 110% of myself to do it. Thanks for the extra motivation with this assignment.

Assignment #4-This was a much needed thing for me to do. My transformation purpose is to fully live my life and to feel alive and no longer feel ashamed.

Assignment 4 ... this is going to take quite some thought & i plan to spend A LOT of time on this. I know all to well about going thru the motions - achieving the results but with no enthusiasm! i dont even get excited when the scale shifts closer to my target or when the tape measure needs tightening. I take my comparison photos but i dont really care if the results are visible or not .... i keep eating right, i keep exercising right, i'm even enthusiastically encouraging others to do the same .. but thats where the enthusiasm ends ... i guess i'm trudging on hoping and waiting for my life to improve like the shell is ... assignment 5 is going to have to wait - I have assignment 4 to master

The purpose for my transformation is… To stop settling for mediocrity and strive to be extraordinary. To no longer feel insignificant and restricted in life. To truly realize that anything is possible. To be a role model and positive influence to others. To be the natural born leader that I was meant to be.

My purpose is to live a life that makes God's heart smile! To live it to the full not watch it go by. To be all that He created me to be and not what my fears or the world around me tells me. To live a life outside my comfort zones. To inspire others to do the same. To be different. To finally be ME! To love and encourage the people around me. To inspire my kids to not settle but push themselves beyond their fears and insecurities, and use the gifts they have been given. To enjoy life with my incredible husband who makes life fun!

My purpose for a transformation is - this isn't the life I wanted or envisioned for myself. I promised my mother on her deathbed that I would gain control of my life and most especially my weight, then she left me a letter asking me to do that same thing. I want to live with no regrets and be able to meet her on the other side and say, I DID IT, MOM, I LIVED!

Thanks Bill, I completed this assigment just now, and it was amazing. I THINK MORE CLEARLY NOW. I now can understand more why i diceded to be part of t.com. I had noticed during this assigment that my mother and son are inspired as i am with the changes and ways of eating. Having their sopport is a motivational tool to me. Soon I will be posting my changes since assigment 1.

Several times now, I have made declarations to finish and post this assignment and each time that I did, I fully intended to do just that. As I took additional time to contemplate my reasons for change however, I found that, though they were well thought out, they were only the natural results of the exercise and assignments. In other words, my "whys" would come about without me really "going deep" into the water. Therefore, I realized that I was not capable of keeping those promises as I was clearly just not ready. I just thought I had to be ready due to my being consumed by unnecessary pressure of an imaginary dead line. That being said, now that I've had additional time, I've been able to be more specific in my reasons for change. My ultimate goal is to become a more productive person by learning to live purposefully. As long as I can remember I have always lived a reactionary lifestyle. What I mean by that is, I have learned to be very good at working under pressure. That sounds good until you evaluate the cause and effect of living that way. Unfortunately the pressure is only there because I created it. I continue to live that way because I'm not willing to put forth a little extra effort and prepare ahead of time. This has to change! Cause: Unwillingness to be prepared Effect: Living with continuous stress due to utter chaos Although I can - and do almost daily, but only under pressure and completely stressed out - manage to put together 6 balanced meals in less than 30 minutes, and am able to have the kids up, dressed, groomed, fed and out the door with lunch in hand and off to school in less than 30 minutes, I also know that it creates unnecessary stress that could have easily been avoided with just a little extra prep time. This has to change! This pattern of behavior has created an unhealthy environment for not only myself but for my husband and children as well. It carries over into the way I relate to my children. For example when I see my children making unwise choices that I know will create the same inevitable reactionary situations that I typically cause, I will get angry with them. As if they should know better. In other words I get mad at them because I see in them the very thing that I despise in myself. Crazy, I know! I'm the one who taught them to be that way! This has to change! I want to live a life with purpose, not because I want an easier, stress free life - sure that would be a bonus - but because I want more out of life. I want more for my children. I don't want my days to be filled with the insignificant things in life. I want them to be filled with the abundant joy I feel when I am able to help someone, whether it be a complete stranger or my own child. I honestly can't remember the last time I had fun with my children. It's always business. "Clean your room!", "Do your homework!", "Pick up your stuff!", "Do this!", "Don't do that!". The one thing that stands out for me is that I'm always saying to them "Hurry up!" thus creating an environment that teaches that stress is the norm. This has to change! I want my children to have a mom that doesn't say "In a Minute!" or "Not right now, I'm really busy!", cause like I said before, the busyness is born out of my choice to be lazy rather than purposeful. This has to change! I want my children to have a mom that smiles at them instead of barking orders at them. I want to be able to take the time to be engaged in what they have to say the very moment they want to share it with me. Not say "Wait a minute!" and then later forget to ask. This has to change! When my time in this world is at an end, I don't want to be the person that looks back on all the time spent here and says "I've wasted It!". I want to look back and know that I haven't wasted it cause I lived every day with a purpose! A life with purpose is why I want to change! Thanks Mr. Phillips! Without the transformation aspect of this challenge, I may not have ever understood my potential for inner change. BFL in itself is fool proof if it's followed just how it's written. The inner transformation is the hard work. There's no guideline or formula to follow and no directions pointing you to the answers. They can only be found within ourselves. We just have to be asked the right questions and be willing to put forth the effort it takes to look for and find the answers. Thanks for asking the right questions!

My Transformation purpose is simply "to be the best ME I can be", inside and out. I have to do this for me and my kids. I always tell my children all they can do is their "best". But Mom hasn't been doing her best. I've been going through the motions and not living life to the fullest for the past five years. I've buried a lot of pain and depression under a protective layer of fat. That was my way of hiding from the world. I'm tired of not living up to my potential. There is so much more to me inside and I know I can live a much more fulfilling life. Thanks Bill for the self reflection assignment. As hard as it was to verbalize, it was needed. Kelly :)

My Transformation Purpose I like the idea, Bill's mantra, I want to be part of The Change- for me, my family, my friends and those that I encounter along my way. I love to give, this is a great place for me. I do however, need to learn to give to myself- not superficially but deeply with purpose and spirit. I have done BFL once in the past with great success; what I love about this is that the focus in not entirely on changing the way you look but taking the transformation so much deeper. It is hard to put into text here but it just feels right to me. We all need to focus on the things we can control, this is one of them.

Why do I want to make a transformation: I want to be the passion filled person God intended me to be. I find I have lost my passion for just about anything in life, nothing excites me, nothing moves me in a forward direction. I feel stuck in a hole and I don't have the motivation to move forward, backwards or sideways. I just am. I can really relate to going to the gym and just going through the motions. No meaning or purpose. I want my life back, I want to laugh again. I want to get up every morning on fire with a desire to be the best person I can be today! Julia

This assignment was hard for me. I came up with alot of reasons to loose this weight that sounded just like everyone elses reasons. None of those reasons really touched my heart and moved me. Then I went out for a while and realized something important. I don't want to be invisible any more. No one notices me when I walk in the room. I am ordinary, average. I didn't use to be. I use to glow, ooze confidence and happiness. I am tired of not being seen, my light being covered up with all of this fat. I want to be seen, the real me, the one who can inspire others and bring others happiness. I don't want to be invisible anymore!

I have been a good example to friends and family throughout my life- and taking responsibility for my body is the "last frontier" of continuing to be the change to those people. Therefore my mantra and my purpose is: "I have always been- and will continue to be a good example to others no matter what."

When I started the Transformation I clearly set out to win the money. What I realize now as the weeks pass and through my previous BFL experience is that I really, really want to be a part of this global change. I've been on a spiritual journey for nearly 11 years now and somehow this seems to be a part of the bigger picture for me unless it is all in my head. BFL came to me- I wasn't shopping in a book store for a diet book. I haven't been on a "diet" in nearly 20 years because I know they don't work. I got rid of my scale a long time ago, and have been very healthy for the last 20 years. I'm not Covergirl material, but at 43 years old I have the stats of someone in their 20's. (I'm talking excellent blood pressure, cholesterol, etc. -that stuff- not the 36-24-36 20 something :)) I work in a school and I see so many overweight kids that it breaks my heart. The mainstream "food" is literally killing us and it never ceases to amaze me how many diet books still get published and how many people still buy them. So much I believe can be cured or prevented through proper nutrition and exercise. I will never not be an advocate for a healthy lifestyle. Recently, I joined the Wellness Committee at my company so that I can incorporate my passion into my job until I can somehow make a change to a more fitting career for myself. Sitting in with the committee felt like I had found my bedroom slippers! One of the committee members is a lifestyle coach so I've signed up for some coaching as well. I was something I had been thinking of doing and it just presented itself to me. During recent trainings at work (we have 800 employees) I've been either approached or emailed by at least 5 people who have said they were "moved" by the way I speak. I can't imagine what I could do if I shared what really gets me fired up. Love in light

My purpose for completing a Transformation is to fearlessly get to the heart of my authentic self. I would truly like to live the life that I envision living and somehow have not sustained. I am now looking back on the reasons for not getting here before, and I think fear has a lot to do with it, plus the denial and the lying you do with yourself. You make excuses for not being diligent in whatever endeavour you are on, and in the end, it's a lot like lying. Pretty soon you get worn down trying to get yourself out of emotional debt, when it would have been so much easier to stay the straight and narrow....however, you cannot appreciate the Transformation until you have seen what you don't want. The reason I changed my profile quote to Randy Pausch's "Never Leave Anything On The Table" is because that inspires me to be my whole self and to leave nothing untapped. I want to be the person who takes joy in taking care of herself, being of service to others, and do all the real and good things that I always want to do. I want to realize my potential and stop dreaming about it. I want to leave behind all the things I am "supposed to do" to stay happy and healthy, and make them "what I do". This will help me to be a much better mother, wife, role model, daughter, friend, and employee. And it will be a part of the change for everyone who thinks it is not possible to change your habits and lifestyle. Thank you Bill, and Coach, and my accountability group for being there for me while I take this journey.

My purpose is for many reasons, but the things that really come to my mind: life should be extraordinary and we should not feel as if we are going through the motions! We can never get back the day before, not even this very second so I feel that it's really my time to act! This is my life and I'm so grateful for MY life and really want to live it to the fullest and always progress both spiritually and physically and be an example of health and vitality for generations to follow in my family. There really is a purpose for everything and I'm grateful that I know what direction I want to move in starting today!!! Thanks Bill and the others here at t.com.

WHY, WHY, WHY?!?!?! Why am I having trouble with my focus in week 6-7? Why have I waited 6 weeks to answer this question when it is probably the easiest, yet most personal? To be a better Father and husband, by always starting with and finishing with my heart. To regain the passion for living and looking challenges straight in the eye! Because I want to see mygirls get married! To love the person I am!! DAN....thanx Bill

Transformation Purpose WHY? I want to get out of here…this hole I have fallen into. I no longer want to watch life happen as if watching it through a window…I want to be able to do it, to go, to experience it. I want to say YES! I want to go and then be able to have something appropriate to wear, have the energy, strength, and stamina to do whatever is involved. I want to be able to show others who are like me now… look you too can come out here and experience life. You can travel, go see relatives, go to a party, ride a horse, try out skiing, run a 3k fundraiser, or participate in a community effort such as cleaning up after a storm. I do not want to hold back my loved ones who want to go out and live, but they do not because they cannot take me along. I want the opposite to be true! I want to be the one who is pulling others into action, not pulling them down with me. I want to transform because in every area of my life… I am longing for more and I want to be walking toward that goal, not sliding into the compounding health problems and aloneness which waits if I do not act! I want everything that God has planned for me in this life…I want to reach my full potential and live an intentional life. Well there it is:) Elaine

Purpose! I am doing this because I am tired of coming home and wanting to lounge. I want to be up moving around. I want my kids to see me play. I want to interract with them in a fun playful way. I want to be able to chase them around the yard. I do these things already, but it might only be for a few minutes. I want to have people look at me and want my energy. I am doing this and am continuing to improve. "I am on my way to the new ME"!

Assignment #4 - Transformation is.... difficult to write something that hasn't already been said. Transformation is different to everyone, but one same goal that keeps coming up is CHANGE! Yes, tired of the way I've lived, the choices I've made and the 'just giving in' to the way I look and perceive myself. The way I feel, is there is SO many things that we can't change and we have to deal with and accept, yet weight and health and body image is something I CAN change. It's something that I can take control of - so way wouldn't I want to be the best I can be? Well, it involves me to make make choices that aren't going to just satisfy the 'now' - and make choices that will be good for me later and make me feel better, physically and mentally. The choices that will make me feel more in control, more confident and inspire those around me - renewed energy, a role model for my children and not an embarrasement. I think when I stop thinking I'm doing this for me - and am doing it for others - to inspire and provide renewed energy, I'll be successful. Thanks Bill - and thanks "T" community - you're awesome!!

My purpose..is to live each day to the fullest. To shine my light for others. To have health, better self-esteem, to be a beacon for others. I want my grandsons to see a grandma that can keep up with them. I want to be the change but also I just want to have a direction in my life that has to start with making the right choices in my life, about food, about health, about exercise, about work etc. I am in it it WIN it!

ASSIGNMENT #4 My mission and purpose in completing this challenge is to overcome my sugar addiction, disordered eating patterns, approval addiction and other things I struggle with and be secure in God alone in Jesus Christ. In doing so, I want to share this good news with others who struggle, so that they can be free also. I am set to complete all of the T-assignments in 18 weeks, and complete my 12-step program too. I want to help others through what I have learned in my own recovery. Right now, I can give away only up to the level I have comprehended thus far, and that is alot. I am starting to think more about others than about my own struggles and me planet, and it feels good. I am learning more and more every day. For a long time I've been "a wounded-healer"...the blind leading the blind, because I couldn't see. I want to change that, and I believe now I am starting to have clarity, hope and a vision by thoroughly working the steps with my sponsor. Life is not so dark anymore, in fact it's really getting fun :) In my heart I know I am a good Mom, but I know that I could be so much better. I could give everyone so much more, if I was free from these things that have had me in chains for so many years. If I was more playful, and joking, there would be more laughter and joy. Six weeks ago I didn't have that, and now there is a light. God made this vessel of mine, and it's the only one I've got. I need to take good care of ALL of it, so I can become what He made me to be, to fulfill His purpose for my life. To 'BE' my God-given potential. I don't really know what that is yet, but it''s an exciting journey, and it keeps getting better~

The right pressure applied in the right way can move anything, it’s about finding the right way to move something. I think we our a lot more powerful then we have led ourselves to believe. Changing provides the leverage.

* Get Healthy * Inspire others * Example for D * Transformation in & out * Feel Alive * Good father and husband

My Transformation Purpose I want to be able to feel good about myself. To not feel like I am being judged, based on my appearance. One of my problems is that I feel Usless, like a failure. I want to FEEL like my life has meaning, not just told that it does. I want to leave an Impression on the world. I want to be one of those people that show us all that amazing things can happen.

I will lose 45 pounds and I will weight 200 pounds. I will lower my bodyfat to 10 bodyfat. I will lower my bloodpressure to 120/90. I will to fit in my 34 pants size. I will see myself as a strong individual and also have great self esteem. I want to respect myself. I will Honor Self Discpline

My purpose for completing the Transformation is to set a positive example for my children. My transformation will reflect my dedication, determination and commitment to living a healthy (inside and out) lifestyle. I want my children to know without a doubt that anything can be accomplished if you 1) really want it; and 2) you’re willing to work for it. If it were easy, everyone could and would be doing it!

I want to believe in myself. I have failed to follow through with so many things in life that I have convinced myself I am not capable of finishing anything that takes effort. I have of so much more to offer and get out of life. I am not developing the gifts and talents that God has given me. I know that the way I think and feel about myself impacts those around me. I want to be a positive influence and make a difference. I will see myself as God sees me.

Let God transform me into a new person by changing the way I think. Then I will know what God wants me to do and I will know how good and pleasing and perfect His will really is! Romans 12:2 I want to be who God intended me to be and gain control over food, life, and circumstances instead of being controlled by them.

I know my real purpose for doing this, although it may seem selfish. My purpose, really, is to have no regrets. I don't want to come to a place in my life where I have to say, "If I would have just done..." or "If I just would have tried harder to..." What if my slack behavior causes some disease, injury, or early death for myself? What if it causes me to "miss" my chance to fulfill my purpose during my lifetime? My fault completely! Peace of mind is what I treasure. I want it! I'm going for it! I intend for my purpose to be "I will be a good example of what accepting the power and grace of God can do in one's life." I want to encourage others to do this. But, I need to meet my no regrets purpose first. I know it's true, now that I have written it out.

My transformatin purpose are my Children.....If i can help them at an early age to somehow understand what all this is about.. then , they are one step ahead of the game. All i want is to to be here Healthy, Happy and set a good example for them........

Well, I have struggled with this assignment for 5 weeks and for some reason my transformation purpose finally hit me. "WHAT I DO MATTERS!!!!!" It matters that I value myself. It matters that I am the best I can be to be of service to others. It matters that I am healthy to be fit to serve. 'I MATTER!!! Wow, what a revelation for me! I feel so empowered just saying it. I can't keep still; I have tears in my eyes. Thank you, Bill, for giving me a reason to live as well as transform. -Margie

I found BFL at a very low point in my life in 2002. I had just left my job because I chose not to be treated like crap basically and that was a HUGE step for me. My savings was depleted and stress was high in our household, but I was keeping the faith. A trainer at the gym turned me on to your book, and the challenge. I was just minding my own business and he came up to me out of the blue. I thought “Wow, $25,000.” I’m in!! What I didn’t expect was the floodgate of emotions that came when I read the book. The biggest thing I remember was picking up on your truth when I read the pages. Sure you were making money at this, but I felt your honest desire to help people. Also, it had a positive energy when so much of how our society views overweight people is negative. I felt you were speaking directly to me although I was not overweight at all at this time; I had been teased as a teenager and battled a vicious eating disorder that stayed with me until my early 20’s. I've said it before but this book hit me at a time when I was open for change. What I got at the end of the challenge was a "physical" body I only dreamed about. (I was a runner-up that year). I thought everyone got that certificate so we would all keep spending money on products and enter again and again, but I didn't get a certificate the second time around, nor did my husband. Something just “clicked.” I had been on a spiritual quest for the last 12 years to find "my purpose." My purpose is to be of service- plain and simple. Sometimes that can mean just opening a door for someone, but I still feel that I need to move myself into a different career where I can use my life experience to help others. Choosing to care for myself is a CONSCIOUS decision. Women, in particular, are bombarded with advertising for products to make our hair beautiful, our skin beautiful, our bodies beautiful. If we are not stick thin or don't look like the woman on the cover of Vogue we somehow don't measure up. Our society is so shallow. Unfortunately, we are totally missing the boat on health and the processed foods being sold in our supermarkets are literally killing us. Transformation speaks to the "whole" being”— body, mind and soul. This is the TRIPLE THREAT I want to be a part of. I signed up for this Transformation with the goal of using the 10,000 to get a Master's degree. I am involved in health & safety for a non-profit for kids with special needs (the “job,” by the way, came to ME two days after I asked the Universe to help me out of another dead-end job and while I was in the 2005 BFL challenge). I'm leaning towards a degree in public health (safe-society driven perhaps- not sure yet). I’ve had my eye on spiritual psychology, but I just don’t know how to make that work at the moment. I love that $10,000 goes to a charity of my choice. This is the Universal Law of Reciprocation in practice. I also know I need to continue to do the footwork if I want to grow. I love what this community is about. The assignments and the fellowship and the sharing are all truly meaningful to me and I am truly in my comfort zone here. It speaks to me, and it is my truth. It is as if my lifetime of experience has finally come together. Whew- what an unloading, huh? Love and light.

My purpose for making the Transformation is to be the woman i know i can be. A powerful, strong woman that is positive and excited about life and a positive example to those around. Not living in fear of the future, or regret of the past, but loving her life in the present and making the most of her talents. Also, desire to be a beautiful, strong example to 3 daughters, and a beautiful and strong companion to husband.

Bill, by making consistent healthy choices, I can help others around me. Reaching towards my full potential, will enable me to help as many people as possible. When I allow my body to be trimmer, my inner light will shine brighter and reach further. I will position myself in situations to reach the greatest number of people. By being in service to others, I will experience great self love, feel pride in living life and enjoy the fullest potential of happiness. I am leading myself and others to BE THE CHANGE. Thank you for giving the baseline for this wonderful assignment. I know I will use this a lot. Thank you again! ~ Stephanie

Ok, Assignment 4. As promised! I have been working on these assignments, but it is tough to post this one. I have so many purposes in my life that I just can't pin down the most important one... Until now. Going along with the theme of the past couple of days. "I, me, myself, Yo, ", am the most important reason I am making this transformation. If I can't do it for myself, I won't ever accomplish my goals. Joe nailed it on the head , when he asked "You feel guilty, don't you?" taking time away from others to spend on yourself. Uh, yeah! It goes against everything in me. That is why I am ,where I am. I have come to realize the last few days that by taking care of ME, I am providing a better life for my family. I have played more with my kids in the last couple weeks, than I have in years. I was always in so much pain, I avoided anything physical. I knew what to do, but I just didn't believe in myself. so, back to my purpose.... The weight is holding me back from playing with my family like I want to. I want to be able to run and jump, without any pain. I want to get over all the little health problems I have, as a result of being overweight. Usually right about the 8 week mark is when I loose my focus and momentum (Yes, I am asking you to help me in advance). Something tragic usually happens, and I give in to the circumstance. Not this time. I decided that even if tragedy strikes, I will finish my challenge from a hospital bed! I am so tired of being knocked down... NO MORE! To sum it up My Purpose for this transformation... 1. To become what and who my Father in Heaven intended me to be 2. To be a light unto the world, and let everyone know they don't have to live in darkness anymore. 3. To be true to myself, and my family by living up to my word. 4. To embody change, mind, body and spirit.

My letter to myself is posted in my mind as I have discovered the true meaning of life for myself. As long as I can remember, I have wanted to be physical and emotional fit. I feel the physical part has always carried me to happiness somewhat, but it wasn't until the Holy Spirit entered my life that I felt the true pleasure of living. I decided to make a true effort to make a realationship with God. It is something that keeps me going and has brought unbelievable happiness in every aspect of my life. By finding this joy in my life, my dreams are now becoming reality each day as I see my body and mind change. My purpose for this tranformation is to become the person I have always long for: Someone who is Internally at peace with life not just now but always and someone who is phyically fit from head to toe. I am 100% positive I will meet my goals since God now has his hands in this transformation with me.

I think this might be the easiest step so far. When I look in the mirror, look into my wife's eyes and play with my kids, if this doesn't motivate me to a purpose to change, im dead inside.

I'm ready to live again. I've lived the last 18 years dead to the world and myself. I have missed out on so much in life because I gave up...I accepted that this was going to be the rest of my life...not living. I'm excited to see what life has in store for me! I'm worth it and I know this journey is going to be life changing. I'm choosing LIFE!

Here's Assignment #4 from January 22, 2009 ASSIGNMENT #4 - WHAT'S MY PURPOSE? I want this transformation, no, I need this transformation for myself. I am 57 years old – and now is MY time! I want to stop being a quitter! I want to actually see this through to the very end – the first “end” being the 18 weeks of staying on program, but then on to the next “end” of the next challenge, and so on until I no longer see myself as a failure and a quitter. The fact that I have exercised six times a week since I started my Transformation and have come to enjoy it and look forward to it is proof to me that this is the real thing. Seeing this Transformation through for the 18 weeks will be a life-changer for me. I know that 18 weeks will be the end of the challenge but it will just be the beginning of a new life for me -- a life where I am being set free from the baggage that has kept me in bondage since I became a victim of incest as a four-year old child. I will no longer be a victim! Being sexually abused for years as a young child defined me for the rest of my life – up to this point – but I don’t want to be that person any longer! I have settled for less than the best all my life because I never could see myself as “worth” anything better. I have tried for over 20 years to see the Teresa the Lord had intended me to be, but the lies of the enemy would always win out and I would always quit before I achieved success. I now want to be who God made me to be – all that God made me to be. I have taught many adult classes, spoken at many women’s events, and am a Children’s Pastor, but deep inside I have still felt like a failure because I have not been disciplined enough to lose weight and make this “temple” worthy of the Lord’s indwelling. I really feel the Lord has led me to Transformation at this particular time to finally break through the barriers that have enslaved me to “failure-thinking”. With my daughter Devin as my partner, and with Clarissa and the accountability group, and this wonderful community of supporters, I can now become all that God has meant for me to be. I just realized that I had never posted the answer to Coach Stoney's 5 questions. I had them in my Success Book but I hadn't put them here. 1. Where am I now? Look at my Before picture and read my Assignment 1 blog. As of 1/1/2009: My early morning naked weight: 172 Hip measurement: 48 Bust measurement: 42 Wasit measurement: 40.5 Rt Thigh: 23.5 Rt Arm: 12 Chest (above bust): 36.5 Health-wise: I have developed arthritis in my hands, particularly my thumbs (disfiguring arthritis runs in my father's family); my "good" cholesterol isn't good - they said I need exercise to get the #'s where they should be; I have "silent" acid reflux that I never knew I had but it has really messed up my throat to where I was seeing a throat specialist over the last year; I am allergic to all milk products; I get winded really easy, etc. etc. Spiritually: I feel I am not the witness for the Lord that I want to be. They see my body before they hear my words, and my body does not reveal victory. I know that I am not all that the Lord meant for me to be. He designed me for a plan and a purpose, but I have not allowed Him to be Lord over my appetite and my habits. I want to transform my relationship with Him also to be closer to Him, to be more obedient to Him, to not give in to the desires of my "own" nature but to be obedient to Him. Emotionally: I have spent the past 12 years trying to "unstuff" all the garbage that I stuffed deep inside from my victimization beginning at age 4. The Lord has been peeling me like an onion, one layer of garbage removal at a time, and now is the time for this! When I reach the end of my 18 weeks, I will feel like I have really made a breakthrough and will be on my way to rebuilding the "me" that God wanted me to be. I spent much more time now thinking positive thoughts and having positive goals, and I don't let myself focus on the negative, the lies that the enemy has always tripped me up with. It's exciting to have a goal that I know I really can reach - I really can be a winner! 2. Where am I going? I made my "after" picture my profile picture because I need to see it before me as much as I can - this is going to be my reality! 3. Why? I answered this in the "My Purpose" above. I want to be all that God planned for me to be! 4. When? I'm 57 years old - I can't waste any more time. NOW is the time for the new me to begin transforming. I'm the chrysalis that will transform into a beautiful butterfly. 5. How? Starting each day with the Lord because that's where my strength comes from first and foremost. But that alone didn't get me thinner and healthier - that's where Transformation 2009 comes in. My partner in this transformation, my daughter Devin, is such an important part of this. I know this is the Lord's timing for both of us. But we both need even more - we need Clarissa and the Accountability group, Stoney, Dude, Bill's radio calls, and all the other wonderful people that are there to support and encourage us. But another big part of this is me reaching out and encouraging others. Everytime I post an encouragement on someone else's thread, I feel a burst of energy, a deeper commitment (I don't really know how to explain it but it's there). And Eric at the gym, the fitness specialist who did my assessment and orientation - I asked him to help me be accountable. So it all works together - every part is essential. I need them all in order to be a success and complete this transformation!

"I want to live the abundant life that Jesus promised." I think that sums up my goal because I so easily succumb to depression and lack of motivation. I know that God has a plan and a purpose for my life and I need to be healthy to achieve it- I want to run the good race and bring others with me-it is time to say good-bye to weak excuses. It is time to stand and fight off my enemies: overeating, nicotine, alcohol use and self loathing. I have asked God to strip it all away so that I can begin to face myself. I want to be free of all hindrances that keep me from living a full life.

Why the transformation? • be the best I can be • to treat myself with respect • be proud of me • to be healthy inside and out: physically, emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually • be the me I always wanted to be - Look better Feel better Be healthier Be fitter • set goals and complete them - be proud of myself and know that I can do anything I set my mind to • stop being IMMATURE - free my self from ancient negative behaviour • be an example for my family and friends - I want to lead by example • shed meaningless layers of laziness, thoughtlessness, and inefficiency • open-hearted, compassionate, open & accepting, Love of Self, happy, joyful, dedicated, PROactive, inspired • my husband and children to be proud of me. • to have the energy I need to actually live my life and not just exist or pass through it. • to have no regrets. How can I give anything to someone else if I don’t already possess it?

I've been thinking and searching for a while on what this actually means to me. What is my purpose in doing this....there is the obvious ones, health, family, self esteem, etc.... but what are the deeper reasons that will make this transformation, this commitment work when many others didn't. I've promised myself, well that didn't work before. I had a deadline, going on a cruise, that didn't work all that well. What is the thing that will make this tick for me. I think the thing that is making this work for me this time is I'm tired of drifting. I feel I'm drifting through life, letting other make the decisions, not wanting to make decisions. I look back and see times when I had a definate purpose and the reasons I let them flutter away. I dated a guy through high school and was planning on marrying him. He was killed in a farming accident a month after we graduated high school. I drifted and starting drinking to cope. I was getting my life back on track when my sister was killed by a drunk driver...I drifted and disconnected from those close to me. I got married to a great guy, had 3 children, was speaking for MADD in the prison, had a great relationship with God & my parents...all in the space of one year the door to speaking was closed, my mother died of cancer, my father had heart surgery that required us to stay with him for over a month, my pastor left the church and later the church was sold out from under the congregation......I think I've been drifting ever since. Now, I am going to have a strong healthy body that can do the best in all situations. I am going to be actively involved in my life and not an outsider looking in. It's time I stepped up and steer my own ship and quit bouncing off the bank. I am worth the effort, I am worth the time it takes, I am worth the re-arranging of meals, I am worthy because I am a child of God with much to give.

My Transformation purpose is a little different this time around. Last year, I had started the challenge at the very beginning of my recovery, therefore a lot of my focus at that time was simply staying sober day by day . But in all, I am extremely happy with my transformation! This year I will be focusing much more on growing spiritually and being of help to others. In order to keep what I have, I must give it away and I have found so much freedom and happiness by doing just that! I am going to keep my eyes on growth and focus on the people who are in need. This is my transformation purpose.

Here is my transformation purpose: to care for myself physically, emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually in such a way that allows the light of Christ to enter my heart and my life, enabling me to align my actions with God's purposes for my family and all of God's children.

Transformation Purpose (I was reading this today and I realized I never posted this here. I did this about 3 weeks ago.) I have pondered over this for days and avoided it for as long as I could. While I was cooking dinner tonight it sort of hit me. Hit me hard because it’s one of the few times I have admitted to myself one of my fears out loud (not talking to myself by the way). I am scared. Sounds crazy uh? Scared to get healthy?...Scared to look and feel good?...Scared to have the body I have always dreamed about? Nope, none of those things. Scared to make a commitment. If I make the commitment, then I’m committed forever. There is no going back. This is unchartered territory. I am scared to commit and fail…again. See…if I don’t commit, then I can’t fail. A vicisous cycle isn’t it. I have been trying to prevent myself from failing and all I have done it commit myself to failure. Well…guess what? Time to take the bull by the horns and prove to myself and I can commit to something positive. I can succeed. I don’t have to fail ever again. Might I stumble…yup. Oh well, no one is perfect…and neither am I. So…I am commited. I am commited to this purpose. To prove I can do it. To improve how I look, improve how I feel, to no longer feel so tired, drained and lost. I want to find reasons to love exercising. Reasons for eating and enjoying healthy food. To show my Son there is more to life than the couch and TV. To get the whole family involved. My purpose in to conquer my fear of the unknow. My fear of commitment. I want to commit to my family and my friends. Create more time for enjoying life and no longer sit on the side lines watching while everyone else enjoys theirs. God give me strength to succeed. To conquer my greatest fear. Please guide me along my new path. Let me stumble but do not let me fall. I am relying on your for support but I must rely on myself for strength for the first time in my life. My purpose…to be the best God allows me to be.

Assignment #4: My purpose for the Transformation: 1. to tap into my inner strength and allow that strength to guide me each day. 2. To make good, smart choices and allow those choices to set a positive example for my friends and family. 3. To live a life that will allow me to be here for my grandchildren someday :) 4. To be confident about my body, and shed my self-consciousness!

I want to stop feeling that life is a checklist, and be able to enjoy it by feeling good, and living my life to my full potential. Shift my focus from self (embarrasment) to others. Teach my kids good health habits. I want to help my friends that are struggling with weight to show that that they can change, and everyone will benefit. I want to have a closer relationship with Jesus Christ, and study the bible. I want to restore my self esteem by proving that I am not a quitter, and can do this.

I wrote a great deal that predicates this in my blog, but this in an excerpt from a longer essay. It is an idea that I got from Discodancer and it is a letter to myself. I intend to read it each morning and evening. "Eric, Past performance is not indicative of future results. You can be the change that you want to see in yourself, in your family, in your friends and in the world. You are gifted. You are special. You are different. You have strong morals. You have high values. You are a man of integrity. You are a leader. You have a full life ahead of you. You have much to teach and more to learn. To destroy lethargy in the world, you must first destroy it in you. To destroy malnourishment in the world, you must first destroy it in you. To destroy poverty in the world, you must first destroy it in you. To destroy pessimism in the world, you must first destroy it in you. To destroy indifference in the world, you must first destroy it in you. To destroy irresponsibility in the world, you must first destroy it in you! You choose to eat right. You choose to exercise. You choose to stand up for what is right. You must fight for those that can't fight for themselves. You must fight for those that won't fight for themselves. Be rich, so you can share your possessions. Be organized, so you can share your time. Be fit, so you can share your life. Find joy, so you can point the way. Know God, so you can introduce Him to others. There are so many more reasons, but these five must never leave your mind. They are ALLISON, MARC, ALEXANDRA, CASSIDY AND PIPER. GO GET IT! I'm proud of you - Eric"

My Transformation purpose is to heal my self emotionally so that I can be as healthy inside and out as I can. I have to free my self from ancient negative behavior patterns so that I can achieve a healthy body and a healthy life. With Healthy body and mind and spirit I will have nothing holding me back from my full potential, Reaching my full potential is important to me I feel like I have a part to play an impact to make I feel like I have much to contribute to humanity and the planet as well as my family and I want to feel successful in this I have always had this drive I have felt for most of my life like I am falling short.

Transformation Assignment #4: My purpose for this Transformation is to......find God and live like he asks us to live--to love one another, to pursue and fill the dreams I have for myself, to live life intentionally and passionately, to BE THE CHANGE. I believe all the rest will fall into place when this happens! Thanks for everything, Bill! sandra

I want to be the best I can be. To be healthy and to be feeling well will aid me in being the best for God.

Why: To CREATE the person I want to become and the person God intended me to become. I am transforming not only my physical body, but my spirit, my mind, and my soul. I want to be able to heal from the past and gain hope for the future. I want to become confident, strong, and gain a feeling of my own self-worth. I want to be able to help lift others to their true potential. I want to help others see their own incredible self-worth. I want to "Be the Change." Angela

I'm working on my transformation because I'm tired of using my weight as an excuse. I am a personal trainer, spin instructor and recently did an Ironman, but feel like a fraud. I'm fit, but not as thin as I would like to be. Some may even call me fat. Despite my career and my many athletic achievements, I feel like a fraud. Being in this industry, you have to live your best life -- respect your body, enrich your mind, challenge yourself. People look to you for guidance and inspiration. Hiding behind this extra weight allows me to watch from the sidelines. Not fully engage with other people or be true to myself. Not take chances to better my life or career. I need to release myself to the process and be fearless to the changes I need to make to live to my fullest potential. I want to be free in my body and not worry about criticism from others. I am so critical of myself. I know it's wrong and I want to turn on the light inside of me. That's why I'm doing this. I've been so shut down emotionally for so long and I need to open myself up. Work through the challenges that lie ahead in these assignments. I want to reach my God-given potential. I know I have greatness inside of me. I hope participating in this progam will bring it out so I can share it with others. -- Susan

I have done BFL for several years and had great success. I continue working out, but eating is my downfall. My goal is to enjoy the full benefits of working out by eating like I know I should. I am starting a new company that will help communities combat flooding problems. Because I am the inventor and owner of this company I realize that I must look successful if I am to be successful. A new suit can only hide so much. I need to prepare and purify my mind and body so I can be in tune to the spiritual help I need. All three areas of my life need to be working together to be truly happy and successful.

Now for Assignment #4: I have been thinking about this for awhile and this is what I came up with for now. My reasons for transforming are simple: Good health, more energy and feeling good about me. Somehow, I know there will be more to add here at another time. I don't think I have gone deep enough yet. When the light hits me, I'll be sure to blog it.

Yup, sometimes we need to hit rock bottom to finally get in the mindset of change and stay consistent in the process. My purpose is to look back to the time when i was at my worst (in every aspect) and see how much i have changed for the better. Being able to prove to myself that i can do significant positive changes is something i've been needing...trust in God and myself, something i hadn't done in a LONG time. And i want to touch more lifes on the way, because we are always putting "seeds" in others, even when we don't realize it.

Assignment #4; My purpose for making a Transformation: I had hit rock bottom. In every way of my life. I had recently moved away from where i grew up and everything i knew, leaving behind all my friends and most importantly my family. I suffered from depression, and it was bad. The medication i was taking was making it worse (i didnt know this). I spent a yr spiraling out of control. My husband and I were fairly newly weds and i starved for his attention. He worked long hours and he had nothing left at the end of the day. Im trying to not let this be a book. I made friends with the local Pizza gal and started going out on the weekends, dabbled in drugs (which i had NEVER done b4), gambling, going out, and in the midst of all this had even cheated on my husband, it goes on and on...I was an absolute Hellion. You would never know, that b4 i moved here i went to church, never had done drugs and was a happy and faithful wife. I dont know what happened. All i know is that it took almost losing my husband and my family b4 I dropped to my knees and begged God to help me, forgive me, change the desires of my heart, etc. He did. I stopped everything i was doing, broke off relationships of those who were not good influences and started going to church. All the while I had gained 35 lbs on my barely 5'2 frame. I was lazy, and hated the way i looked and who i had become. I needed a whole body, mind and spirit Transformation. I wanted to forget about the woman i was for a yr.. the hurt that i had caused and the damage i had done. I still wonder what happen.. How did Satan have such a hold on me? Not even in HS or college was i even close to being like that?!. I still am finding answers to those questions. I want to know what was behind that so it never happens again. I have 4 amazing daughters. I will be honest and say its hard to admit everything i was doing whilst being a mother of 4. I will admit that my husband had to pick up my slack alot of times. I deal with a lot of guilt and wonder what in the heck was i thinking. I know i was still a good mom...and what i knew for Certain was that, What in the Hell is a wife and mother of 4 doing partying and acting like a single woman?! It had to stop! I was looking to fill a huge void. I had moved away from my family which were my life and moved to a funky town where i wasnt exactly excepted. I thought that was only in movies..but people can be brutal. I felt alone and was looking for quick and easy gratification. It has been several months and God is doing a wonderful work in my heart. So, my purpose for making a transformation is so i can be the best Mom. The best Wife. and the best PERSON i can possibly be. I know there is a fantastic person inside this body. She was lost, but now I am found. Thank you, Lord. And it was by no accident that i stumbled upon this website when i did ; D God's Peace, Jenny

Assignment #4 - MY TRANSFORMATION PURPOSE Why? "The powerful play goes on and we each may contribute a verse." While I am here ... I will contribute a life well-lived, in which not one day is ever wasted. I will be a man for others and inspire those I love. I will be the change I want to see in the world. I will enjoy the passage of time. I will. Why? Because life is too short. Because I want to be an active participant in my family's lives. Because life is too short. Because I want to be a role model. Because life is too short. Because I want to feel alive and live every day out loud. Why? Because life is too short to contribute anything less than 100% every day.

My purpose is to fulfill Gods plan for my life. The way Im living now is not helping that - at all. No energy makes me really lazy - I do what i need to do, but dont have the energy for anything else... Looking forward to getting more in touch with the way I was supposed to live my life!

Hi Bill, I've been thinking about this question for a long time, even before I started this challenge. I think for me, it has been a long time coming... my reason for transformation is to live and be alive to watch my (future) children grow up, live to see my long-earned retirement, and live into my golden years enjoying with my husband all the things we worked so hard for. In my mid 30s I was having so much stress at work that I had heart palpitations, high blood pressure and was hospitalized in the telemetry unit for observation. I was told to lose weight, take better care of myself by eating right and exercising. Instead I took on more challenge at work, I worked full time and earned my MBA. I ignored my health and myself to try to better myself for my job and my family's future. December 2008 I had a major health scare. I was so busy working, planning baby showers for friends, doing Christmas shopping, I again forgot about myself and I thought I had the flu. It turned out to be much more serious-I had sepsis and nearly died. Even after this episode of nearly losing my life, I still kept going full steam ahead, working, not really taking care of myself and just ignoring all the warnings. My husband and I finally had to have a long heart-to-heart discussion about the way I was living, how I was treating myself, and how it was impacting our marriage. I wasn't caring for myself and even though I thought I was caring for my family, I wasn't, I was just working, existing and charging ahead... I had lost the goal, my priorities were messed up. I needed to change to save my marriage and myself. As people have said to me here at T.com, when the student is ready, the teacher will appear. Your book appeared to me like magic one day and I couldn't stop put the book down. I realized I needed to take care of myself, I needed to transform and change my life so I could live to see another day. I have been given so many warning signs to change and I realize I cannot keep ignoring them. This transformation is to live, to be a better me for myself and my family.

I will walk the walk. I know what right and wrong are. I see it clearly in other people's decisions. I'm sure some of you have given thought of the irony of overweight people ordering a diet coke with their super jumbo sized number four. There's a reason that people key in on this. It sheds light onto contradictions in priority. I feel I've been sucked so far into this convenience of the modern world, that if it all went back to the way it was 50, 100, 500, or 1000 years ago, I wouldn't be able to survive. I am doing this to shed meaningless layers of laziness, thoughtlessness, and inefficiency from my life. I am doing this to find a more simple happiness from within. I'm doing this to find what is really important to me, and fill my life with it.

I've found myself in a place where I am living without purpose, merely existing from day to day. In order to "be the change", I must change myself. I am doing this so that I may; 1. inspire my children to live healthy and active lives, 2. have the strength and courage to return to my calling in public safety, 3. rebuild my life in the aftermath of my divorce and the lonliness that I currently feel so overwhelmed with, 4. be worthy once again of the love of a wonderful woman, 5. return to the status of being my sister's hero, 6. live a life driven by purpose and principle, 7. and finally (though this drives all the other reasons) to live at all times according to God's will. Paraphrasing two of my favorite Episcopal prayers, I want to delight in His will, and walk in His ways, to the glory of His name; to have the strength and courage to love and serve Him with gladness and singleness of heart.

I have my reasons saved on my cell phone, so this way when i wake up and before i go to sleep, those are first and last things i read. my reasons are i started noticing the first symptoms of dibeties in me, having to buy new bigger close, shortness of breath, prolong times of being sick,depressed. The one of the main reasons for my transformation was that i figured if i beat my addictions to cigarets, mathenphedamin, crack cocaine, alchohol i can beat the last demon with in me.

Wrestling with this assignment has really been work. It has actually stopped me flat in the past, but no longer. Nothing can stop me now! Why do it? Random reasons in no particular order… …to be free of compulsions…to be proud of myself…to feel the satisfaction of keeping my word to myself…to be able to wear the smaller clothes in the closet that have been hanging there 5 years…to wear a bikini in public…to teach my 4 grandkids to swim and have fun with them in the water while wearing that bikini…to wear shorts this summer without wondering what my legs look like…to wear the white “goddess” dress and the awesome turquoise dress that still have the tags on them…to truly experience the journey to mind/body health so I can inspire my kids and my brothers…to get as healthy, strong and fit as possible so I can live my new life a lot longer since I am already 60…to run a full marathon …to do a summit climb of Mt. Rainier before they cut me off because of age…to do the 90 mile hiking circumambulation of Rainier…to stand atop my favorite mountain in Montana - Rising Wolf…to put on my karate gi without the ends of my belt sticking out like little stubs…to get my small waist back…to wear size 4 pants…to get rid of saggy triceps…to know inner calm and centeredness…to choose, not react…to look sexy and face and understand my fears about a strong sexuality…to find my inner power to most fully interact with my refugee clients…to meet my inner self and then watch what kind of outer self manifests from that…to know I can follow through…to allow my success…to have legs like a dancer…to do 50 full push-ups…to do at least 5 full chin-ups…to do a back bend again…to see abdominal muscles…to lose belly fat so that surgical scar doesn’t look like a zipper on a puffy sleeping bag…to lose that double chin…to have strong developed shoulders that don’t look like the world is weighing me down…to be strong and fast in karate class…to be ready to be my BEST, not second-best…to access my full power as a healer (really means allow more of God’s power to come through)…to take the leadership role at the Center where I work…to learn to do a back walkover…to stand on my head…to go shopping for clothes and not be afraid to look in the mirror in the dressing room…to find that all kinds of clothes look good on me…to have Sophie say I look “pretty” and not “fat”…to be able to carry Haru or Ben or Ayaka around for hours without getting tired…to travel to see Kit and not be instantly identified as a “fat American”…to look great naked…to be pointed out as “that athletic looking younger- than- she -looks -lady who is laughing a lot”…to be congruent inside and out…to make art again …to allow Spirit to shine through without blocks…to radiate Love to all, starting with myself.

My transformation purpose is to FINALLY FEEL COMPLETE. I am a procrastinator by nature, and at 45, I always used to feel that there was time to "do things later". As my youth and health slip away, I realize that I need to finish and be the me I always intended, NOW. There is definitely a discourse between the me I am and the me I always wanted to be, and I still feel IMMATURE. Thank you for putting me on the right path to get there, Bill.

Transformation purpose: I want to be healthy inside and out. I want to set goals and complete them which I never have for my inner self. I want to be proud of myself and know that I can do anything I set my mind to. I want to be the change instead of waiting around for it. I want to be confident, happy and outgoing instead of hiding inside and feeling ashamed. I want to be the best I can for my family, friends and a role model to all. More than anything I want kids!! I believe fate guided me to Bill and all of you and I'm on the road to success now. Thank you Bill!

Why the Transformation? Emotional healing would be my passionate reason for The Transformation!! To have success in this area will invite so much freedom within me to be the person I feel I really am which has so been locked up for years. I so desire to give my children and husband a whole person as well as respect myself enough to give me the same. I’ve struggled with inner turmoil since I was a little girl. Although there are many dynamics that have contributed to this turmoil, I believe because of the sensitive person I am, it made these things even harder to overcome. Over the last twenty years of concern for my family, not able to be the best mother I could be, it saddens me to not be able to conquer fear! Know that I have dedicated the last twenty years to many self help activities, longing for relief. Yes, it has offered me gradual relief, but I know deep down there is more freedom. Honestly, I’m just plain insecure!! Just plain afraid!! Just plain “not enough”!! Because of abuse in my childhood, I’ve continually compared myself to others, and of course, comparing myself to the posers I have, in my minds eye, how can anybody beat that? I continually hear, “why do you feel this way?, look at you, I’d give anything to be thin like you and on… and on… and on… It really does stem from how you think!! So, how does The Transformation ultimately turn into an inner transformation? Well, I’m not totally sure. I’m trusting, that my God through Jesus Christ is going to walk me through the steps of finding that out. Oh, by the way, I do plead the blood of Jesus over everything I do, asking for his guidance and total protection!! I do believe that by putting God first, being the best I can be in regards to diet (including drinking water), exercise and sleep, along with goal setting and helping others, I may truly be one step closer to experiencing pure joy. I do feel by transforming my body into a more muscle toned physique and having the energy to do athletic activities that too will help my mental state. I believe that if I have that athletic look I’ve always desired and have had in my younger days, it may take away that need to constantly compare myself to others and always “loose”. I truly want to stay youthful inside and out!! This all may sound a little self absorbed, but I’m speaking from the heart as well as being bold like the instructions asked. When I was so depressed about ten years ago, on all kinds of psychological meds etc., I woke up one day and asked myself several very simple but powerful questions. Are you eating right? Are you drinking water? Are you sleeping right? Are you exercising? Of course, “NO” was the answer to all of these questions. That day, I began steps of weaning myself off of the meds and began the BASICS that God created our bodies to need. Guess what? Since then, my life has grown for the better. So, here I am today, wanting to peel back one more layer of “stuff” and dig a little deeper. In my third week, I already feel like a new person. Energy, high!! Why The Transformation? How can I give anything to someone else if I don’t already possess it? I want it, all of it so I can give it away to my family first which is so deserving of it and then to the numerous others that feel the same way I do. Thanks to all of you for sharing!! This program has already blessed my life as well as the four that I’ve shared with that have made a decision to commit as well. Marty, I so identified with your pain, thanks for your honesty, because at that very moment, a desire has re-kindled in me which has inspired me to allow God to do a much larger work inside me and others I touch!!

My Purpose: I want to be the best I can be; I want to treat myself with respect and accomplish all that God has planned for me. I want to set an example for my children/family; I want to practice what I preach. I want to feel good and confident about my appearance and myself. I want to be proud of me. I want my husband and children to be proud of me. I want to have the energy I need to actually live my life and not just exist or pass through it. I want to have no regrets. I want to have a healthy relationship with food and control it rather than have it control me. I want to return to the mentally healthy attitudes I had when I was my fittest and healthiest, 1993. I want to return excitement into my relationship with my husband. I want to live in the moment and be confident that I can control the moment without focusing on food. I want to grow old healthily so I can enjoy my family and live to have a relationship with grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Wait... So i have been posting my assignments in my blog. Should I be putting them on here? I just want to make sure that it is clear that I am following through with the challenge..

Bill asked us all to really think about what our purpose is in this transformation. I have been pondering this, and here are my thoughts. My biggest purpose for completing this transformation is that I have come to the realization that to be blessed with the gifts of a healthy body and sound mind and not use them to their fullest potential shows a complete lack of appreciation to the one who gave them to me. I will never accomplish all that God has planned for my life until I have "sharpened" all the tools he has given me. I want to be ready to go wherever and do whatever I am called to do without hesitation. When I think about it this way, the choice seems very simple. I want to be the mother my children deserve. I want to be full of energy. I want to be patient. I want to be FUN! I want to be the kind of wife my husband deserves. I want to be loving, patient and kind. I want to be an inspiration to others in my life. I want those around me to experience the freedom that comes from a healthy physical and spiritual life. For all of these reasons I will choose to think about what I am putting into my mouth and into my mind.

My transformation purpose: to change what I have become and what I don't like about myself. I want to start a project and actually finish. I believe that once I begin to transform and see the results things will fall into place. I was just thinking about how frustrated one of my instructors must be feeling with me because I am constantly turning assignments in late; I am a graduate student, there is no excuse for that. My thoughts were she must be tired of my excuses, and then I blurted out loud "imagine how I feel, I have to live with myself." I am very disgusted with myself and I want to change that, I want to stop making excuses for everything that I am responsible for. It's gets old. But I have been reading over the assignments and I feel inspired to make a change not only for myself but for my family and friends. My other transformation goal is to begin by loving myself and affirming that I am worthy enough to make a transformation, to live in the NOW, not in the future, not in the past. I notice that if I think to far ahead into the future I become overwhelmed and either procrastinate or quit. It's going to be challenging but I know I can do it thanks to the network of transformers in this wonderful and supportive community.

Transformation Purpose: I don't want to live giving others only my second best. I want to be confident again. I want my inside energy & spirit to shine through. I want to be able to give more than encouraging words; I want to encourage people by my lifestyle. I want to mentally, emotionally, & physically live my best life, and live it with a purpose!

I read this assignment on Sunday, and have been thinking about it. Read it again today, and still thinking about it. My transformation purpose like my transformation is evolving. Why transformation? When I help people I do not want to feel like a fraud. I want what I say and do to have worth and meaning. For so many years I have been embarressed. Embarresed by my appearance, my health, my fitness and with my realtionship with God. Life and physical health are precious gifts entrusted to us by God. I will transform my life and live it so He will be proud and happy that he entrusted me with these gifts. I will do this for me. I will live my life with excitement and enthusiasim. I will do this for my son. Say what you mean, mean what you say and do what you say. I will do this for my family and community. Be healthy so I may be there when they need me. Be inspiring so they may be healthy and be partners with them in their persuit of healthy living. Thank you bill for such a thought provoking assignment.

I had done this on a Blog, but basically the purpose I have for doing this to me is love and accept me so I can move fwd to loving and accepting others as well. The unhappiness taints everything and only love can brake me free of this unhappy feeling. C

There are so many reasons as to why anyone would want to transform their image during this challenge, but for me, I need to change not only my physical image, but my emotional outlook on life. I lost my father to cancer when he was just 64. I also lost my brother to cancer, he was only 50 years of age. Both of them were smokers! My mother lived to be 85 and was a non-smoker, as am I. I want a better longevity for myself because I want to be here to take care of my family for as long as possible. I am a good person, but I tend to keep to myself most of the time and seldom show emotion. No "zest" other than for what I want to do. Since I retired in Nov 2004, I have become more withdrawn and alone. That has already improved after just into the 4th week of this transformation challenge. My true challenge goal will be not only to change my physical appearance, but my attitude on life, to be "there' when I am asked for help in any way. To be a "great" dad to my two teenage girls Jennifer & Samantha and to be my wife's "dream" husband once again. I love you Cindy! Whatever improvements I reach in physical image are just a side bonus. Health, confidence, knowledge to share, and a love for life are the important goals for my transformation. I want to here and active when my future grand children arrive. At the start of this challenge, my weight was 223.8 lbs at 6ft tall, and that was not due to muscle. I was FAT - all in the belly. I will lose at least 30 lbs by June 8, 2009 - the end of the first 18 week period. I am already becoming more outgoing and I actually look forward to my next workout. I built a home gym room that has an abundance of equipment and after seeing my workouts and having explained the transformation challenge I have embraced, I already have my wife Cindy, my daughter Samantha, and my brother & sister in law Ted and Lynn, all starting to work out on a regular basis. That's inspiring all in itself. One of the hardest things to change for me and my family is the foods that we eat. Working on that and getting better everyday. Lastly, I'd like to be helpful to others who may be in similar circumstances. My transformation hopefully will inspire others to see what can be done and to know what matters most in their lives. I now have clear minded goals and the confidence to go for it all. A special thank you to Mr. Goldman (Marty) who was and still is my initial inspiration for entering this challenge. Thanks Bill

Wow! This Assignment #4 hit me on a day I really, really needed it. I was feeling so down and with no aim for doing this transformation. I had my free day yesterday and went out to eat at a Chinese Buffet. Something didn't set well and am having major stomach problems this morning. Am feeling pretty poorly today both emotionally and physically. So reading your incentives were so very important to my life today. I definitely want to show up in the world each day as an inspirational person to those around me. I never really thought about how my life affected those around me. I truly want to realize my fulol God-given potential in all aspects of our lives as you said in your assignment 4 informational paragraphs. Also, when those around us don't understand why we are doing all these things (lifting weights, eating well, and cardio) and don't give us any support, it is even harder. Thanks Bill for your helping all of us and thank you to all of you in the community for helping all of us. Sincerely, Vonnie

I want to be an example to my family. I want to live long for my wife and children. I want to fulfill ALL the God-given potential inside of me. I want to shop off the rack. I want to go to the park, beach, pool or water park, take off my shirt and look great. I want to show people that anything can be accomplished. I want to be a whole and complete minister and leader in God’s army. I want to thrive in life. I want to be able to do what I want to do. I want to be happy.

Living intentionally -- boy that hits home. It is easy to be so busy helping everyone else, that I use it as a mask for not living up to my potential. My purpose is to live each day intentially. Becoming the person God has designed. I'm not selling Him or myself short any longer. It isn't just physical. It is a mental and spiritual tidal wave. I can not remember having this level of clarity. I'm learing to be disciplined - to keep promises I make to myself. I'm learning to listen to my body and how far I can push. I'm learning to use my inner strength and my mind to overcome self-imposed limitations. I'm learning to let go and ask God for strength when mine alone isn't enough. I'm learning what it is like to be me -- the real, authentic, take-it-or-leave-it me. And you know what? I've never felt better in all areas of my life. Kelly

After looking at assignment 4, I was really forced to take a true look at myself. I realized that I really was being "that person" Bill talked about with "no focus, no reason for being there really, no powerful purpose..." I mean I knew I wanted to look better, to feel better and be more energetic for me and my family but I certainly was not "living" with a purpose: with the true reasons for why I want to change being right in the forefront all of the time. I realize now I am building a foundation so that I can become the best I can be and not lose that focus again. By keeping my purpose as a part of me all of the time, I will be more satisfied, I will learn from my experiences, adjust to what is going on around me and become an inspiration and example to others. My purpose is to consistently enrich the lives of myself and others by striving to be all that I am capable of being on every level.

My purpose in doing this transformation is to be the change and do the most I can in this life to help others who may look to me, both by being an example and offering support by sharing my experience and knowledge when appropriate. It is my responsibility to honor my own body and mind. I don’t want to look back and feel that I didn’t do all I could in life. I’m not a youngster anymore. I am in mid-life and I feel it is truly now or never for me. I want to be a healthy older person! My chosen charity is Doctors without Borders. It wasn’t easy for me to pick just one. There are many worthy charities. I have chosen this one because it horrifies me to know that there are innocent people caught in the violence of war. As stated on their website, “The organization is committed to bringing quality medical care to people caught in crisis regardless of race, religion or political affiliation.” Thank you Bill and thank you to this community for giving me the chance to fulfill my potential in a way I have never done before!

The purpose of my transformation is to move on with my life at the highest possible levels of health, fitness,emotional wellness,confidence,joy,and love. I embrace change and I know that I can do this and more. steve

My purpose for doing this transformation is to transform from someone who sought a reason to live from other, to someone who finds the spring of life inside of myself. My purpose is to learn to love me so that I can love others. In my search for happiness, I have done everything through my life from gangs, drugs and detention centers, to leadership, convents and law school. But when I lost my brother and sister, I came to realize that all my searching had been for an answer outside of me. By doing this transformation, I want to reach inside where I know the answer must be, and when I find it, I want to give it to everyone his is stumbling, struggling or falling. I want to help others avoid a 10th of the darkness I have endured in any way I can. But, when I make this transformation, I hope I never forget where I came from and choose, like so many, to avoid the downtrodden. I pray that my hands will always be stretched out to help others when I am standing proud and strong.

Joan's Purpose Wake up to my True Self, an instrument of peace and compassion in the world. Inspire people by being the change I wish to see and raising my energy. Notice God in every person, knowing that Forgiveness is the solution to every problem.

Transformation purpose: Physical health so I can be around for my family for a very long time and be a positive influence. Emotional well being so I can learn to love myself so I can be a better mother, sister, daughter, friend, mentor, and be ready for my life partner when he comes into my life. Intellectual development so I can be the leader of change in my family and community to become a better overall person. And Spiritual enlightenment so I can reach my God given potential in every aspect of my life - in balance with my world!

This assignment was difficult and SO VERY important. I thank you Bill for formalizing it as an assignment that might otherwise have remained subconsciously in my mind. The exercise has made my desires, drive and motivation conscious and powerful. Now I am ready! http://www.transformation.com/KBrooke/blog/The-Transformation/Assignment-4/20604

The complete restructuring of myself. An overhaul from the ground up involving a thorough inspection of my life...thoughts, feelings, actions, faith, commitment, habits, ethos, goals, attitude, career, relationships, fitness, health, and eating. Up, down, left, and right...I need to evaluate all aspects and make improvements. I find that so many people spend so much time saying "I can't", or "I don't have time"...not just with fitness, but with life. I've been there as well, but reality says that we ALL can if we take the time to focus and breathe. We can all do better and we can all learn more, so why settle for mediocrity? Transformation means that I'm chosing to do something positive with my life with the hope that it will be fullfilling, meaningful, and that it will inspire others to reach beyond their perceived capacity.

I am doing this because I am tired of living my life without making any improvements. I am ready to make the changes necessary to make myself great physically, mentally, and spiritually. I have never completed anything that i was proud of but truly beleive i will be successful this time around. I have many goals I plan on accomplishing and by doing this transformation i plan to succeed at all of them.

Let me start by saying that I am incredibly blessed. I completed my first BFL Challenge in 2003 and tasted what Transformation was like. I reeled from the energy and confidence and it caused me to take a real hard look at other areas of my life that were less than satisfactory. I made some really difficult decisions and changed the course of my life considerably. Now it is years later -different career, relationship, city, with a one year old son, a new baby on the way, and a beautiful 12 year old daughter that makes me incredibly proud to be her mother. If I had known how radically everything would change for me, I would have run for the hills. When I step outside of myself and look at my life, I am so grateful for all that I have been given. It is shameful to admit that, despite my good fortune, I am left uninspired and searching. When I walk in the door with my wonderful family, I feel a light go on and everything is in color. When I walk out the door, it is gray – I am going through the motions. I am not depressed. I know this on a personal and professional level. I need a Transformation in my life. I feel like I am not living up to my true potential as a human being. By nature, I am a passionate person. I have confidence in what I can accomplish and I have achieved success in many areas of my life. I want to make a difference in the world and aspire above all to be the best Mama and wife that I can be. I am doing this because I am a lover of life. I want to be a positive role model for my children. I want them to see me as a strong, healthy, confident and happy person. I want to BE a strong, healthy, confident and happy person. I read about the rising dangers of childhood obesity and that our children will be the first generation not to outlive ours. This is a disgrace. I want to Be the Change!

Purpose of my Transformation: I am tired of encouraging people to exercise and eat right and be healthy when I cannot look at myself in the mirror year after year and say that I have practiced what I have preached!!! I want to be a positive role model to my friends and especially to my son and husband and teach them the positive of a healthy lifestyle. My 11 year old son is in the 95th percentile in his weight. That means that 5% of the kids out there are bigger than him. He does not have girlfriends and gets picked on and gets "fat jokes" make to him. Is his weight problem my fault? Who else is the blame? How do I have the right to tell him what is good to eat and what is bad to eat and encourage him to exercise when I am not a consistent role model in his life. If I do not make this change permanent then I risk my son being susceptible to a life of being overweight and to the inherent risks that go with them such as child onset of diabetes. Let's not forget his self-esteem and confidence and love for life!!! This 18 week challenge is not a diet….it is a way of life that I will be incorporating into my home that will be for me, my husband and my son. I have always gone on diets for selfish reasons in the past….ME! For my own purpose. This time it is going to be a selfless reason and it will be a change for my family….not myself. My son has been doing this new Eating for Life Program and working out on the treadmill at least 4 days out of the week plus his soccer and basketball workouts. He is already nearly 10 pounds lighter and passes up on soda's, pizza, etc. He has incorporated this new lifestyle into his own and really, really enjoys it. My husband has also already lost 9 pounds, is feeling healthier every day. THIS....IS THE TRUE WAY OF LIFE.

My purpose/mission is to realize my God-given potential in all aspects of my life, thus changing my heart from selfish to service!! I feel like I have so much direction now that I have something to work for, something of value and something that will give to others!!

I'm in my 7th week of transformation now, but have been toying around with assignment 4 for 3-4 weeks at this point, trying to refine it, trying to improve it. It basically comes down to the following: I want to be a better man today than I was yesterday. That's the only way to ensure I am a better father, husband, son, brother, and friend. It means that I have to examine all of my actions during the day, and filter them through this statement- Will doing this make me a better man.-- I've been doing this for a couple of weeks now, and it is tough. There are times I want to be lazy. There are times it would be easier to be dishonest or 'bend' the rules. There are times it would be easier to flop down on the couch and promise my kids I'll play with them later. It's a tough examination to make, but it's progress. Thanks! Marv

My Purpose for this is simply life and death. For years, with my distorted thinking, I used toxic illegal drugs as a way to maintain my weight. And eventhough it did keep me "skinny", I was slowly killing myself physically and spiritually. For, me becoming healthy and wholesome the right way- is the only solution I know to overcome this terrifying disease of addiction. I never thought I would get clean, let alone be healthy one day- and if I can do it I know I can help others on their journey to recovery and health. This is my purpose. To help and be to be helped-one day at a time- my life depends on it. -Alexis

-Transformation Purpose- Live as God intended me to, WITH PURPOSE! Stay Focused and Organized Remain Positive

...What's the point...? The point of getting out of bed everyday and working out and making healthy choices, BEST choices, is to teach my son and model for my best friend and partner that pushing yourself to be better is ALWAYS the right choice, no matter the options. I often think of something I once read (i think it was a sermon by the Paul, the apostle)... he said, "Their stomach is their god".... that statement speaks for itself no matter what context it's in... If I cannot master my own stomach (wants and whims and desires) then what can I hope to master? If I cannot overcome unhealthy choices in my life, then what hope do I have of ever accomplishing anything positive? If I CAN overcome laziness, self-destructive behaviors, flakiness and negativity, then I CAN ACCOMPLISH ANYTHING I WANT TO...! WHEN I overcome these things, I will be a help to those closest to me. I can assist them along their paths and share in their happiness as they shared in mine...

I am a Registered Nurse. I work on a medical/surgical floor that also happens to be the "Bariatric Center For Excellence " in my city. What this means is that hundreds, perhaps thousands of men and women come to my floor each year to have laproscopic stomach banding and roux en y gastric bypasses done. In essence, I am the front line example for healthy choices for these people, and I have failed miserably to provide these people with a tangeable healthy alternative for weight loss or control. Instead of permanently altering their bodies to lose weight. I also have a daughter that I have been a poor example to, she is 10 and obese at 130#. I want this transformation for myself so that I might become an inspiring force for transformation for my family, community and the world! Thank you for the thought provoking questions Bill!

The purpose of my transformation is to add definition, clarity and meaning to my life, to inspire those around me and purge myself of feelings of negativity and worthlessness.

When I think to myself and be truthful with how I feel deep down, I am not happy with who I am. I have so many negative emotions built up in me. The negativity is slowly killing me. I am realizing that life is too short to get angry over little things as tomorrow may never come. For example, the last 10 years has flown by like nothing and I can’t help but think what have I really done and has being angry over little things gotten me anywhere? I’ve had some great accomplishments towards the end of the last 10 years, like getting married and having my own house with my wife to call our own but I still feel I missed out on so much. I am scared that life will just pass me by again and I will have so much to regret of not accomplishing as much as I would like. I want to make everyday meaningful and not waste anymore precious time. Instead of getting angry over unimportant things, I want to appreciate life’s precious moments. I really want to find out what my life purpose is and be motivated every single day, every single moment. Right now the people who motivate me are my wife and our little baby she’s holding right now. They both deserve a great husband and a daddy. My other motivation is becoming the after picture that I created in Assignment 2!

My Transformation purpose is two fold... One is Spiritually based, and the 2nd is Ego. Of course my Ego wants my body to transform from soft to svelte....but more important is the real reason. I believe we are on this Earth to be of service. In this changing world, Strength is critical. I want the maximium strength, to be able to assist another. If a emergency situation were to arise, I want to be able to be of service....to lift, push, pull up, and/ or be able to carry another human being.

I have made the decision to change My reasons for changing are 1) I want to like what I see when I see my body. 2) I want to be confident, energetic and strong 3) I want to inspire other people to know that they, too, can achieve their goals 4) I want to be part of a community that is changing the world for the better, for all of us These are the words I read to myself every morning and evening and I am passionately inspired to make a difference in the lives of others. It is wonderful to have found this place to share that passion and those dreams with others. live with purpose, how inspiring. Thank you. Marne

February 13, 2009 My name is Theresa. My purpose for making this transition is first for myself. It is not selfish in nature but the truth is if I didn’t start I don’t think I would have much of a life to look forward to tomorrow. I could be gone from this world and truly did not live at all. This past year I lost two brothers and a great niece. All health related deaths. It is sad to think about not being apart of their lives; not living one's own life is scary. The life I was meant to live. I should be healthy and able to do things for myself. I started in December, I am continuing to change today, and the change will not end for my future is always ahead of me. The path that I choose to take is my own making. I choose to be here at Transformation. To rely on myself and learn from others; people with the same desire for a whole-life change body, mind and soul. I was back in Ohio for in February for my brother Jim’s funeral. After the interment friends and family gathered together to reminisce. I was talking to a former classmate and he asked me to share a story from school. I could not think of one then. He sad that was sad and he was right. I did not like grade school that much because of my build and shyness. I let all that get in the way of living at my young age. Life was not always bleak as that sounded but it did not let me shine. I will shine. My life is not over it is just beginning to get healthy. I know now that I am meant to be here in Chapleau. I know now that Terry is the right man for me and our children are proof of our love. I live for myself and my family. Grandchildren are sweet rewards of raising our children. I want to be healthy and live long to enjoy them in my life and not be a burden to anyone. Therefore I am changing. I am doing things that will enable me to grow. I will ask for help and give it in return. This is how it should be. Ask and it will be given. Give and you will receive. May His blessings be on all of us. Mim in Chapleau

28 days ago I wrote what is pasted below... little did I know how much I would be tested mentally, physically, and spiritually. My purpose is still the same. I will not give up!! God has placed me on this earth for a reason! No longer will I live under my potential and purpose. I am Transforming for my wife, and children. The ones who believe in me when I don't believe in myself. The purpose of my Transformation is to be the vehicle and conduit of God's love and grace. In the past I struggled with the assignment God has for my life. But now, I am at a place, and realize that if I am to do what God has assigned me to do , I must live a life of Transformation. I am reminded that in Romans 12:2 it is stated ...Be ye Transformed by the renewing of ones mind. The word renew in the Greek means to exchange. So I know I must now exchange everything that has held me back from fulfilling God's purpose in my life. My Transformation purpose is to be all that God has created me to be! As I move closer to him (I will transform) I will begin to see clearer, be more loving, compassionate, honest, full of life, and healthy.

Assignment #4 really makes you think about the things of your past and how you use it to propel you forward. I felt this was very stimulating, as it brought out some feelings in me while writing my assignment #4 out on Microsoft Word.

Since my husband and I were so connected, I died when he died inside and out but was still breathing. After listening to Sharon Martin, I realized that I had the same sad, angy feelings that she had and was so unhappy. I think those of us that are married with children think its our lives. In a sense I think it is! But it may not be that we are unhappy with our spouse or with our children, It may be that we are unhappy deep within ourselves. That was me and I relate to Sharon. After 7 years of grief and my husband and I being grief stricken, I told him that we needed to go to a councelor. He agreed or we would split up. Then I had guilt because I couldnt' leave him broken ontop of broken and he truly is a wonderful man who loves life more than anyone I know. If anyone deserved to be angry it was him, but he was just broken. We went to the councelor in 2007 before he decided to get off the pain killers and get the surgery. He was scared of having surgery, but surely it couldn't be worse than his non-existant life. We went to a councelor and he asked, so when did you realize there was a problem. I immediately said August of 2001. He looked over his glasses at me and said "that's pretty precise" can you tell me why you know that? I said, that's when my husband was stricken and our togetherness with BFL ended. He said how do you feel and I said "MAD, ANGRY!" all the time. He said, "So your life changed and you didn't? I asked what he meant by that and he said well, your life changed, you want your old life back, but it's been 6 years and nobody can go back, you only go forward. He said, You have the right to be mad, but now you have to decide whether you love each other and can go forward not backward. We both love each other, we just hated what had happened to us. We both agreed that our lives had to change. When my husband went off the pain killer, got his surgery, and ended up pretty good, I realized that I had to change my attitude about my family, how I related to them, and quit being angry. For the year after my husband's fall (night before surgery) we suffered another year of him in pain and me working 16 hour days, 6-7 days a week without breaks to keep our business afloat. During these years, we lost our most wonderful constant, our dog. He was our best friend and two of our neighbor kids hit him and he ended up dying. That was four years ago and we stopped putting up a Christmas Tree and didn't care about holidays with our kids anymore. The desire was there but not the energy. We all became distant from each other, mostly because of my attitude. I really wasn't fun to be around. Negative, wornout, and always angry. At Christmas this year, we invited everyone over for Christmas. I did some soul searching and decided that Christmas would be the start of my mind change. My son-in-law didn't really want to come because he knew it would be dismal. I decorated the house, got up the energy to make it real, made myself "get up". They all received printed dog tags for Christmas from me of how I really felt about them. I made them at the pet store. My daughter "awe" for being a great mother, My other daughter "I love you" because she yearned for me to say "I love you" and I didn't have any love to give. Not that I didn't love her, she's wonderful, but I didn't feel any love and just couldn't muster the words because they were words. I couldn't say them and feel anything when I said them. I gave her husband, great man who everyone loves such a hard time over the five years we worked together that his said "apology" for the five years of hell I put him through. My son, "Proud", My son's wife "Gratitude" my son-in-law "Amazing", and my husband a "renewed respect and renewed love" for getting up! If I had had to give myself one, it would have had to say " change and get up and fight for inner and outer change" (Be the change) . . . My kids looked at me like "who are you?" I made the decision to change my inner self when I printed the dog tags. I almost didn't get up and give each of them their dog tags, but knew that if I didn't change, I was no better than an alcoholic or drug addict. I would just shell out forever. It was now I needed follow through and a support group. A place to go and I new where I was going since I'd been there before. Always back to where Bill Phillips is! Back to BFL and then landed on "T".com Two weeks later, Jan 16 I vowed to continue the path and change my inner self. My profile explains more of who I am: I joined the BFL challenge on Jan 19 and the T-family on Jan 21st. Mind in full motion! Now body in full motion.

My defining purpose is to become a better, happier and kinder father, spouse and friend. I want to be able to help others be the change. Pino

Assignment #4 - My Purpose One of the things I wanted to do this round is really dig deeper. I don't think I really did that last time. My Purpose - My Why I want to be all that God wants me to be - I am on a completely different path than I was just one year ago. Last year I was not even able to workout due to a shoulder issue. This is waht brought me back to BFL and ultimately Transformation.com. For years I was seperated with my relastionship with God sue to being unhappy and depressed. It is very hard to be depressed on a regular basis and feel there is a holy creator that loves you. I seek feel, give and share love - When I was depressed I felt alone, I felt I had no friends, I knew intellectually that people loved me and cared about me but I could not feel that love. There was this wall of loneliness and unhappiness that was unbearable. I ahve broken through this but I never want o go back. I seek to help others o get out of this position if they are feeling the same way. Part of being in that spot is not having hope or a sense of purpose. I want to be physically strong and healthy. I am seeking to drop the tags of skinny and thin and bad food from my vocabulary. Foods are not bad and good. Foods are either decadent or more healthful. I seek to eat more of the healthful and only occasionally indulge in the decadent. It is about a healthy mindset regarding food. I feel that I have some disordered thoughts about eating and food. I work each day to think more nuturing to my body rather than giving into cravings. I seek to be stronger physically. Pushing my body to make it stronger helps not only my physical health but also my attitude and mental health. I am now working as a personal trainer and also want to set an example. I also like the extra energy that taking care of myself provides me. It allows me to have the physical and mental energy to help others. My motivation is to help others - This truly give me happiness. Sometimes it can be challenging and takes a lot of energy but at the end of the day you feel good because you made someone smile or you helped wipe away some tears or gave someone some advice that might make thier life just a little easier. At the end of the day when I lay my head on the pillow I hope that I have been able to help someone and that means I had a good day. I will be healthy and strong - I eat healthy and have a strong healthy mind and body - I seek God's wisdom daily to keep a postivie mental attitude - I will help my follow Transformers and future Transformers - I will help others to see the beauty that is within themselves I will Be the Change that I want to see in the world!

My purpose is to grow spiritually, mentally, and physically, to make life easier and happier for those around me and to inspire everyone I come into contact with!!!

A little more than three years ago I met the love of my life. It took 41 years,,,,,,,but it was worth the wait! For his first Christmas gift I painted a sailboat with a decorative scene on the front side of it's canvas sails. On the back side, I wrote the words "Come sail away with me, the best is yet to be". After agonizing over what the "purpose" of this transformation is, I saw that ship and it all became clear. After spending over 20 years in a "less than satisfying" marriage and now knowing how wonderful it is to actually have a life partner and a best friend,,,,,,I now have a reason for living my life to it's fullest. The best truly is "yet to be". My husband has now joined me on this journey and it's my purpose to continue growing together, both spiritually and physically. I also look forward to sharing what we've learned with others so they can experience the benefits of the transformation process in their own lives. Sailing towards a healthier, happier future,,,,,,Hugs, and thanks Bill!!!

Assignment 4 This December I think physically and spiritually I hit rock bottom. I have many great things in my life don’t get me wrong. I have an amazingly supportive girlfriend and a great family and friends. But I just felt like I was coasting through life, not expecting much from myself and getting that result in return. When I hit that point in December, I just had this burning desire deep down to change who I was and how I was living my life. I want to show my friends, family and anyone who has felt like I did, that they are not stuck. That we all have it within ourselves to make dramatic positive changes in our lives if we stay positive, set goals and remain focused on achieving those goals.

This was the most difficult assignment Bill. Here goes - My purpose for transforming is to discover within me character that exhudes: health, vitality, beauty, strength, honesty, courage, confidence, competence, joy and hope! I want to realize the best is yet to come!

My transformation purpose is to become the best me I can be. I want to be able to trust myself as I expect others to. In the past, up until now, I haven't kept promises to myself. With anyone else, my kids, my spouse, friends, associates, my work is my bond. If I say I will do something I do it. If I commit myself to an obligation I do it to the best of my ability, but this has never extended to me! How very strange. A friend of mine said something the other day that really impacted me. She said the first person you have to be compassionate with is yourself. I have been caretaking my entire life for everyone, but me. Now it's my turn, to honor my committments to myself.

Hello all you "Profound Transformers" out there and my dearest Bill! I personally love this assignment most of all. Because one the BIGGEST reasons why I went into a downward spiral and then my health followed me down, was because I was feeling empty and lost and feared that I was NOT living my life's purpose. I prayed, begged, screamed, and wanted to go to the edge of a mountain to scream "Please lead me to my purpose". Lead is what happened....I was lead to something I had in my very own personal training studio, a piece of equipment, put it into a private room and soon after I was lead to a moving meditation where and when God spoke to me and revealed my life's purpose! That was in January 2002....inspite of many attempts, a downward spiraling of my health has prevented me from living this purpose to the fullest. And I am truly passionate about it. it brought me to the realization that everything I have done, my entire life was indeed preparing me for this purpose....even the downward spiraling of my health. But I NEVER imagined that almost exactly seven years later, I have NOT recovered form my health issues or setbacks.....UNTIL NOW....Until October 10th, 2008 when the switch was FLIPPED! I finally found empowering information on my health condition that lead me to a plan and a deadline. This gave me hope and direction. Then, by the end of the year, this past December O was lead to Transformation.com. I knew this was divine intervention and that I was well on my way this time. Ironically, my former attempts at transformations have always been centered around BfL and helping others achieve their personal best, but due to my health issues, I couldn't reach my goals or tremendous desires and it caused me to lose faith, hope and drive! So it is ironic that I was lead back to Bill now, to have my transformation come full circle, since my very first attempt back in 1998 with BfL. This time I am CONFIDENT that I will be someone Bill will want to interview, and have my story shared with millions, because I have no doubt it can help millions! In the past, I have shared my clients stories with Bill, but never had one of my own that I could be proud of. This year is definitely different. My TRANSFORMATION PURPOSE is to clearly ahieve the health that I dream of, the leanest body that I have ever had, and the firmest body I have ever known in order to BE THE CHANGE I have been inspiring in others and to live my life's purpose to the fullest. To help children of all ages with "broken spirits". How can I be a role model and have children look up to me, if I don't look up to me? If I'm not what I have always wanted to be! A healthy, happy, giving, loving, role model! Are you next? Hugs from California and Demi, the next Be THE CHANGE TRANSFORMATION GODDESS! xoxo

My purpose in joining this transformation challenge began with getting in shape, having that toned body the movie stars have and feeling good about the way I look and feel. At this moment, I can honestly say I am open to God to continue to guide me in the changes I need to make to glorify him and help others. I have no idea what changes are going to happen and what direction I will take but God has been revealing some major problems in my life that I have lied to everyone and myself about the seriousness of them. The devestation I have encountered has humbled me and God has revealed the source; I was blind but now I can see! There has been such a void in my life and I have made some very unhealthy choices to try to fill it. I hope to share tmy story by the end of this challenge, Right now, honestly I am a mess but because of the encouragement I have that God wants the best for our lives, I am going to get through the hell to find the glory I know he is going to lead me to. A special friend gave me the most encouraging words...."don't tell God how big your problems are, tell your problems how big your God is"!!! I am walking in faith...sometimes crawling...but I am committed to be the change (I am excited to see how my story plays out). I plan on working hard, physically, mentally, intellectually, and spiritually to reach my goals and win this challenge and most importanly win the challenge of living joyfully and passing that forward.

My Assignment #4 My assignment #4: My Purpose/ My Why/ What's the Point?/My Reasons All include BODY, MIND AND SOUL To think and act the way God intended me to.(Be tolerant and respect the differences of others) To be closer to my wife. Do more physical activities together as a family, not just by myself. Gain the energy to help more people realize their dreams.(Provide affordable housing and hope, for those that strive to live the American dream.) To "BE THE CHANGE" and set the example that will change peoples lives forever! To always be healthy and active so that we can play an active roll in our family's future. I want to be able to play sports with my grandchildren and great grandchildren. To have an energy so powerful that making new friends is a daily occurrence. To be able to share how important the Transformation Process is to achieving success! To Look and Feel incredibly strong at all times! To Motivate others by my actions.

Assignment #4 I want to be a positive example for others. Especially my family. I want to make a difference. I want to know my potential. What is the best I can be? How good can I possibly feel? I want to grow spiritually and see the positive, uplifting person that I can become. I want to enjoy the rest of my life and truly LIVE it!

Well my purpose is simply my life. I got tired of being depressed, of feeling tired and tired of having no interest in life. Yes is been like this since I was a little girl I always been the fat girl even my family used to call me the PIG and little by little destroying my self esteem and making me think that I just had to accept that my life was going to be like that for ever. That brought me a lot of problems to my life I felt so little and inferior that I couldn't even have friends because I though I wasn't good enough for them even in my marriage I feel so insecure of my self that I am always doubting of my husband ( who is the best man in the world). So I decided to change all this and finally live a happy life feeling and looking GREAT.

#4 Should I live to a ripe old age, I'm about half way there and have lived my life carrying painful burdens that I thought I'd put down long ago. I have not been living my life as a whole person. It's time for a new beginning so that whatever years I have before me are my BEST YEARS ever! I want my life to matter, to make an impact in the lives of others, and to leave a legacy of love, freedom, and joy to my kids and all the generations that follow. I want to leave my mark on their hearts and to be what God designed me to be. My spirit was meant to fly...I want to know what it feels like to live that free. I fully believe that I CAN and already, I know deep in my heart, the shift has occured, the quiet earthquake that has swallowed up all that I could not let go of before. I am ready for take-off! (1.17.09)

My purpose in doing this transformation is ….. • To be strong & healthy – to have a better quality of life so I can truly live and fully participate in life. • To live well and be well for my famiily. • To prove to myself, I can do it. To prove to others, I can do it. To prove to others, they can do it. • This transformation is a tool for focus in examining my beliefs and perceptions and expanding my understanding of myself and my world. • To give some structure to what I already know to be necessary and true.

Assignment 4 – My Purpose My first transformation was focus on getting my blood pressure and cholesterol levels under control. My purpose for the second transformation is to build upon what I learned the first round. Here is what I know. Hope, hard work, dedication and determination equal success in transforming your physical, spiritual being. Physically my purpose is to continue to be a good steward over my body. Be dedicated and focus during the workouts and nurturing. Why? My body is still in a work in process and I am working on reducing my body mass index to healthy level. Spiritually, I have this energy to study more of God’s words to fully understand my spiritual gift. To be open to all the ways He wants to speak to me and become more secure in myself in knowing that He will always be there for me. Why? So I can be a better mother, a grandmother, a friend and a faithful servant to Him in serving others. So I take one day at a time and will give it my all. There are many mountains to climb; obstacles in the way. Some days the mountain will be easy and others may be a downward slide but I will keep climbing each mountain…no matter what….so at the end of the day I can say “well done”. Robert H. Schuller For every mountain there is a miracle.

Thank you Bill! I have been thinking about my purpose since yesterday. I know that I want to be stronger, healthier, happier, and more confidant. I look back over my life, and I have struggled with my weight for as long as I can remember. As early as Elementary School, I remember being teased about weight. There are two times in my life I remember feeling good about myself. The year or so before I got married, and right after my first daughter was born. I had worked very hard both times to be the best I could be. I felt great, and it showed. I was a happier person, more confidant. Now, I lack confidence, I hate to have my picture taken, assignment #1 about killed me. I cried for quite a while after the picture. Transformation means being the better me, one I can be proud of, one my husband can be proud of, and one my kids can be proud of. My oldest, who is 6, shows me advertisements she has seen on tv for weight loss programs, diet pills. I know she loves me, but I also know that to her, there should be less of me. I promised myself I would never embarass my kids. As a child, my mother was overweight, and I was picked on, I am now guilty of doing that to my own kids. I am taking my life back, and soon will no longer be an embarassment to my girls. Transformation will be the new me, one who can love and be loved. Energetic, happy, strong, confidant, healthy, and proud. My goals are to be : 1. Healthy 2. To feel good about myself 3. To be an example to my family: mom, dad, husband, and children. 4. To be helpful to others. 5. To live up to my God given potential.

Hey bill, My transformation purpose is To be one of life’s solutions not one of life’s problems. This was a great task and made me think long and hard. Cheers Keith

It must have been fate that brought me here today! My motivation for workout time is a struggle, just like Bill said. But I love the phrase, "started living intentionally." I am just the opposite of people (like my wife) who live their life for others. For too long I think I've been selfish to a fault. My primary purpose is not "me." I think too much of my life is about me. My purpose is how my life affects those around me. If I cannot live my life for others then my life will have little or no impact on posterity. I work out in front of a board with pictures of my wife and kids. I remind myself that this is for them. I put a new song up on my profile that I work out to. It's by Toby Mac and called, "Burn for You." It talks about setting a new pace and re-lighting the fire. For me, that's living for Christ and burning for His love for others. Stop by and view my profile, those of like-minded faith! I'd love to be your T-friend!

My Transformation Purpose is . . . ME! Because I deserve to fully experience the JOY of the blessings already present in my life. As I actively practice self-love, I am nurturing the vehicle I use to serve others. I am a being of light. Time to shine!!!!!!!

Hi All, I started the Transformation on February 2nd, two days ago. My purpose for doing this transformation is "To be all that God made me to be so that I can help others do the same."

Assignment #4- My Transformation Purpose: I saw Phil's video last night where he told about being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis last summer. After hearing what he said, I spent the whole day today reflecting on where I am and how I got here. You see, about a year and a half ago I was given a diagnosis that my sudden blurred vision was likely a preliminary symptom of MS. That was after months of MRI's, blood tests, spinal tap, etc. They prescribed a weekly shot to administer to myself (that gave me flu like symptoms for about 15 hours every week) that was designed to slow progression of the disease. MS affects everyone in different ways and there is a lot they still don't know about it, so when I had questions, they really didn't have direct answers and in some ways that made it harder for me. They told me they would be able to tell more at my one year check up and MRI. Well, that was in August and after researching MS, I guess it was easier for me to hide behind my denial than to be told I have a disease that could someday leave me crippled and helpless. Making myself sick every week for the rest of my life isn't my idea of quality, so I stopped taking the shot (besides, I hated sticking myself with a needle). I thought that a healthy lifestyle would help. Trouble is, I just didn't get around to that healthy lifestyle. Feelings of depression, remorse, disbelief have all been running through my head and I kind of feel like I've been living in a gray cloud and my blurred vision is a constant reminder. I've felt disconnected from my purpose and my dreams. I had already made my decision that this is my time to get healthy, but hearing Phil's story and spending the day reflecting on my own life, it has helped me to have more clarity in my Purpose. So, with that said, here is my purpose. 1. My wife and my children. I want to be as healthy as I can be so we can have many years of quality life together and so I can support them. 2. To live up to my potential. I can't live up to my potential if I'm not healthy and while I'm living with a constant headache. I want to be an inspiration to those around me and to the people I meet. 3. To show thanks to God for what he has given me and to live according to His plan for my life. 4. Fear. Yes, to me fear is a big motivating factor. Fear for what could happen if I don't take this to heart and get healthy. Fear of someday being a burden. Fear of being helpless. 5. To be an inspiration and to help other people that are feeling hopeless. I thank God that my symptoms have been minimal and I haven't had the physical pain that I hear others talk about. I want to be here, especially for the people who have or are going through much more than I have, whether illness, tragedy or feelings of hopelessness about losing weight or getting your life back! Thanks---------Pat

In high school, I ran Cross Country & track. I learned the difference between finishing a race having given it my absolute all & finishing barely out of breath having done as little as possible required to cross the finish line. Sadly, since then I have also experienced what it's like to (figuratively) give up just after beginning or not even start at all. My motivation for completing the Transformation challenge is that I really want to feel that feeling of satisfaction again that comes from completing something & completing it well.

Bill, I can really identify with how you felt in that gym. I have been in that place many times - out of touch with my purpose. Your impact has become so large, but I imagine that you started out small that first moment after you felt like you knew what to do. The purpose of my Transformation participation is to begin finally to meet my mustard seed of faith with a mustard seed of action, and watch them both grow one day into something amazing that I can't even imagine. Wow! "There is no faith without works" means something different to me after writing that sentence LOL. Really for me, this time it is not so much about the physical. I did the BFL challenge 2 x back in 2000 and I got real hung up on how many work-outs and how much weight and stuff and I ended up in better shape physically but not as much better off mentally and spiritually as I needed to be. But I did learn that some structure and a commitment to an achievable goal were really good for me, and I'm looking for strength and growth in other dimensions this time around. So this time around my Transformation purpose is to commit, to participate in the non-exercise part of the process, to show up as myself every day for 18 weeks and do my best and let the best come back to me. I would LOVE it if I come out of this process a more even-tempered, kinder, glowing, positive person who knows how to be happy and can help other people discover how to be happy, but if I can just participate as fully as I am able, I will consider it all a raging success.

My purpose: To fullfill my God givin abilities by being the best father, husband, son and friend I can be. To be a leader and example to the children in our community.

This is a very exciting time in my life. Right now is the time to do what I ought to do. It is the time to be the Champion I want to be. I am a beloved daughter of God and my life has meaning, purpose and direction. I love Matt with all my heart. He has told me that he really wants me to succeed. I long to be his svelte Melanie and his cute Angel. Now is the time!! I am transforming to be free to enjoy each moment I have with Katie, Sarah, and Julia, to love, teach and play with them. I am ready to win and progress as a transformer. My accomplishments will bring happiness, joy, and ecstasy to me and be a blessing in other people's lives. Matt assured me that this will be easy because I have made some of these changes before. I also will exercise faith in God and rely Him and my connection with others because I believe it's not possible for me to do it alone. I believe this new path will lead to profound changes in my spirit and my caring for other people. I can do this step by step with the right help. I'm going to keep in mind this scripture: 1 Corinthians 10:13 "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it."

2.2.09 When thinking of what my purpose for my transformation should be, what comes to mind is the legacy that I will leave behind and I can most effectively do this through the way that I will inspire my three incredible sons who are the biggest blessing in m life. To have a purpose driven live is to show them and equip them on how to beco9me godly man; the kind of man who will have a positive impact in God's Kingdom. My transformation purpose is to reach a healthy balance emotionally, spiritually and physically. In doing this I hope that I can inspire others and those around me. I do believe that we gain the most in our lives when we give our life away to others; to live unselfishly like Christ, to be a servant. So my goal is that as I set the example for others to follow that they will be inspired to make this life altering transformation. Bill, thanks for the giving of your knowledge so that others can benefit in their road to recapturing their lives.

My clearly stated purpose, one more time: To fulfill my god given potential and positively affect everyone around me! Molly

I believe with 100% of my heart God has placed me on this earth for a reason, a purpose. What is that purpose? It is to be a wife, a daughter, a sister, a mother, a friend, a health care professional . It is none of these, yet all of these. It is to become the BEST ME that I am capable of being. To FULFILL my GOD GIVEN POTENTIAL! ..and oh what a potential that is. I am blessed beyond words with gifts and talents ...that when used... WOW what an outcome! I am intelligent, beautiful, and have a heart the size of Texas:) I truly understand and embrace the philosopht that MY LIFE IMPACTS EVERYONE around me. I want that impact to be the electricity that energizes others. I want that impact to be the drug that makes others feel high on life. I want that impact to be the comfort that soothes others souls. NO MORE NEGATIVITY...I will shun it. My clearly stated purpose :To fulfill my god given purpose and positively affect the lives of others! Molly

I have been stuck on this assignment since...almost day 1 :S. The reasons for my Transformation...and the reasons that I keep me pursuing it are: 1. To FEEL ALIVE! I want to feel connected with myself, with everyone, with my life, with the energy and life (plants/universe) around me--to feel the energy (the God that I am) within my skin and know that this body is the vessel that I use to experience LIFE! This is my life and every moment is--and I want to live to fulfill my potential in every moment--to realize the moment, breathe it, experience it--BE it. I want to radiate my love to everyone and express my joy for life (hopefully more often than not :D) to others to leave an impression on those around me that LIFE is GORGEOUS and AMAZING and they are TOO! Everyone has so much potential--I want to cheer them on (more so, than myself). I want to have that feeling always and to feel the excitement that I have for others--for me. I want to do this challenge to know for myself that I can be my word--that I have integrity and courage (to face obstacles and "keep moving forward"). I know with this--when I see through the finish (it won't be over--as this is just the beginning of the experience :D) and have the skills and knowledge to experience life in a "transformed" perspective. I want to see opportunities instead of hardships. I want to see fun instead of pain. I'm excited by this--because I have a feeling that this Transformation will connect me to ME and therefore connects me with everyone :D and I soooo want to be :D. YOU GUYS ROCK! Thank you Bill for this! Thank you everyone for your INSPIRING words! :D!!!! (sorry I got a bit carried away...did I answer your question? It is difficult to explain--but it keeps me going :D).

The purpose of my transformation is to allow myself to be a reflection of my life's beauty.

Why I want to go thru the transformation. I am wanting to get my life back. I have spent all of my adult life overweight. With this transformation life will begin. Lifting away limitations of knowing there are things I really want to do. But not able to do, because of my weight. Long walks down a country path or able to ride a horse again, even a day at the local skating rink. Waking up in the morning looking forward to the day. Being able to walk into a clothing store and buying a outfit that I know is going to look good on me. Knowing I have alot of friends and family that can be helped by my achieving the transformation to a healthy and happy life. Being able to be with them as they achieve theirs.

Assignment #4 - My purpose for making this Transformation. I am participating in this Transformation so I can learn to enjoy, embrace and accept my life and who I am. So I can have a positive impact on those I love or come into contact with. So I can cleanse myself of all the internal and external baggage that is killing me physically, mentally and spiritually. To become the best I can be and to become an example to others of how to “be the change” both inside and out. To achieve these objectives I will set a goal to spend the remainder of my transformation (15 weeks) training myself both inside and out to do the following: To love myself. To forgive myself. To forgive others. To believe that I am worthy of being alive. To believe I have purpose. To believe I am needed. To believe I am loved. To believe God put me here for a reason. To live in the present, not the past or future. To stop wasting my life fearing death. To serve others. To accept who I am. To smile and laugh more. To show more gratitude. To choose what I eat. To choose when I eat. To train hard 6 days each week. To get plenty of rest. To not give up, no matter what. To believe I am a WINNER! I WILL read this each morning before starting my day. Greg 2/2/09

Great Assignment!! This is what separates this challenge from typical weight loss 'programs'. :) My purpose of this transformation is to help my body work the way it's supposed to and stop fighting it. Before this challenge started I was feeling groggy, unmotivated, aches and pains everywhere, headaches, etc. etc.. Even after one week of the program of eating more proteins and getting my body moving other than my work, I have soooo much more energy and the aches and headaches are gone!! This realization has pushed me to continue to see how much better my body will be if I follow IT'S plan and not the lazy way :) I have always been a positve person, but lazyness crept in as I stuffed my body with unnecessary and unhealty foods that I thought was't really the problem of the way I felt... boy was I wrong! Moving forward and leaving my old habits in the dust!

My purpose,To live the second half of my life better than the first. To be fully connected to my God, my family, my friends, and my comunity. To truly live as God would intend me to. To be an example to others and help lift others up. To be the change! Terry

I wish to reach my fullest potential. I will be a good example to friends, family and coworkers. Be a good leader and role model for others. I will be a better husband, father, friend to all I touch. Taking care of what God had given to me.

I have been thinking a lot about the reasons that I want this transformation in the last couple of days. I have tried to do this challenge in the past, but have never been able to really accept where I was. I remember before taking photos and being mortified. It's almost like I just couldn't deal with the pain, so I didn't stay committed and went back into denial. Way back then I had signed up for the emails that Bill sent and I have always felt regret when I got emails encouraging me to sign up again. I got the email about Marty's transformation and was totally inspired by that. Unfortunately, I didn't do anything. Here we are three or so months later and I saw Chris' change. I realized that the months have come and gone and I haven't gotten better. It was in that moment that I was willing to take on this challenge and not only did I commit to it, but I got my husband (racinjay) to do the same. My purpose for committing to this challenge has everything to do with the new way I want to live my life. I have always been a person that let my fear get in the way of my progression. I have struggled with it my whole life in every aspect whether it be my education, my relationships with men, family relationships, my business, my relationship with God, and lastly with accepting myself. When I signed up for this challenge my purpose was and is to conquer that fear that is holding me back. I want to prove to myself that I can do it, and that I am not willing to sacrifice my happiness to just stay the same. I don't want to be miserable anymore and I want to reinvent myself. My first year of marriage has been a tough one, and most of the reason why is that I haven't been taking care of myself and as a result I'm not happy. Sadly, this has such a negative effect on the way I treat my husband. I know that if I can move forward in my life that I will be happier and not only have more patience and acceptance for myself, but be able to extend that to my husband and to those I love the most. I no longer want to hang on to the pain of being the beautiful fat girl. I was always told that I could be a "knock out" if I was thin, and I have felt a lot of shame for not changing. I want to move away from feeling like I'm not good enough, or loveable because I'm fat. In the future when those thoughts come into my head, I want to be able to say, "Hey, look at where you are..you are no longer that person." Lastly, I really want to start a family in the next couple of years and I know that I need to loose the weight in order to be healthy. I don't want to be over 200 lbs when I'm pregnant and have even less energy and less motivation to loose weight. I'm gonna take this challenge one day at a time.

Assignment #4 1.31.09 - Four weeks ago, when I became a new member of the transformation community, the purpose for my transformation was easy – 100% weight loss and that was it. Because I felt that was the answer to all of my issues. In the last four weeks, I have really started to focus less on the weight loss. I have lost weight in the past and I have had great motivations for losing weight but I have never sustained any weight loss. I could never really answer the question as to why, until now, after having the opportunity to study, listen, learn and correspond with people in our community that are still struggling and people that have been successful. The problem was that I became totally fixated on fixing the symptom and not the cause. The symptom was weight gain the cause was lack of discipline, accountability, confidence, understanding who I am and not really appreciating how I could help other people and how people could help me, plus many other reasons. As an example, it was completely out of my comfort zone to ever let anyone see any of my before pictures-- to me that was very private and just plain unacceptable. The real reason was I was just flat out embarrassed. I never understood the importance of releasing that fear. When I joined the transformation community, I learned the importance of letting go of that fear. So I posted my before pictures AND I committed to posting my pictures every two weeks. I received so much support that it completely took away that fear. Now I am excited for what I call picture day. (Which is tomorrow) As I stated earlier, in my life I never focused on any the reasons that lead to the weight loss. I just figured if I just worked out and lost weight all else would be good. Therefore, my transformation is no longer just about weight loss. I have really given a great deal of thought to this answer and I know that the purpose for my transformation is to: 1) Always, Always look for ways to expand my comfort zone. Look for those areas in my life that give me the most fear and confront it. This will lead to personal and professional growth. 2) Continuously identify those personal and professional barriers that prevent me from reaching my full potential and work to break through those barriers. 3) Have the knowledge, strength and courage to always ask the question is there something that I could have done differently or better to help someone who is struggling in my personal and professional life– even for those people where my first thought is not to help or to blame them for their lot in life. 4) Treat my body with the respect that it deserves with consistent exercise and good nutrition. 5) Learn to draw upon that inner strength, that I believe everyone possess, in order to help get through those times of adversity. 6) Incorporate in my life – “Positive Energy follows Positive Thought”. When you think positive your energy levels will follow. 7) Share my journey, which quite honestly, I was too embarrassed to do. My time in the transformation community has taught me the importance of sharing. I always felt that the confidence to do everything listed above would come after I defeated my worst opponent—my weight. I now know that my worst opponent will be defeated after everything above defines me as a person. This felt great to write and share.

Why? I want to do the best with my life, and I will. Live life to the fullest. I not only wan't to feel better about myself but be stronger Body Mind and Soul for my familly and everyone else. I want to make a difference in the world.

Transformation Assignment #4 The Power of Purpose What’s the point? What's the point of just showing up, of just being another body count in the daily grind. The superficial reason for this change of life is so that I will stop the deterioration of my body/ bones/ heart/ muscles. But a little deeper I know that I am so thankful to my body and all that it has put up with (and continues to put up with) and I'm thankful that it has tolerated the weight gain and bad eating habits. I'm so proud of it and yet I am embarrassed and ashamed at the same time - at what I've done to it. At the fat and the lack of conditioning. At the negative attitudes and drinking. The anger. I don't want to feel that way anymore. This is key: Dig a little deeper and it's because I believe that when we lose touch with who we are deap inside that OUR ENTIRE LIFE is affected by it. If you lose who you are you begin to lie to others in your life, to your co-workers, to your family, and in the end, to yourself. I may have forgotten who I was meant to be - who God created me to be. When you spend minute after minute, day after day, year after year just showing up and doing the minimum, you become numb to the fact that you had dreams at one point. I want to become the person I know God has plans for. I keep thinking back to a remake of Peter Pan where Peter has chosen to grow up (I think he's played by Robin Williams) and when he, Peter, has to go back to Never-never land and his friends see him, they can't believe that it's him and they take him by his face and look deep into his eyes and say, "Peter, are you in there?" Well, somewhere in me is the ME that has been covered up by thousands of minutes of nothingness. Some of that nothingness is represented by the calories in plump fat cells, but you can see some of it in callousness of my heart. Most of ME has just been squished down so hard that it's hard to recognize. What do I want to put down as my WHY: 1) I am doing the work of improving the health of my body, mind and spirit so that I can have body and life that allows me to feel only pride in it. No shame. 2) I am doing the work of improving the health of my body, mind and spirit so that I can find the ME that has been smothered by inattention. 3) I am doing the work of improving the health of my body, mind and spirit so that I can remember and pursue the dreams that I once had. 4) I am doing the work of improving the health of my body, mind and spirit so that I can be 100% in my life and not be just an observer. 5) I am doing the work of improving the health of my body, mind and spirit forever so that I can be the example that others in my life need. So that I can show them that the human body does is not condemned to become obese and weak.

I did assignment No. 1 and 2 and did'nt like to see my before picture hanging on the wall of the kitchen, but you know what. This assignment No. 4 makes sense to me now. I can't look at the before picture. I need to have this purpose clear cause this is not just about being fit. It's about being healthy and loving myself to be able to then, love others. Recognizing that the real me is a person that should be full of energy and if I'm not so energized at the moment it's just because of unhealthy decisions I've taken before. My purpose is to become as healthy as I can to inspire my sister and brother. My sister weights around 270 and is avoids all comments about weight, excercise, eating sensible, etc. My brother need motivation to stop smoking and treat himself better. I don't live with them but, I want to be as healthy so that they can see the difference and I can feel the total shift of the new life ahead me. Thanks Bill!!!

What is my Purpose? Why? When I read Bill's assignment number 4, I was put to task by it. I have spent years making up reasons to get into shape and change my lifestyle, but never really tried to dig deep for my real reason for wanting it. I have come to realize, after looking deep within, that I never really liked myself much. I didn't like who my parents were, who my so called friends were, jobs I held, or even who I though I wanted to be.To be more specific I wanted to be the guy I knew who was rich, but I didn't like how he treated others. I wanted to be the guy who had all the girls , but I didn't want to be as lonely as he really was. And I wanted to be the guy who said Piss on the world, but I couldn't bring myself to hate everyone and everything around me. I was so confused! After reading Bill's assignment, I wanted to be me for the first.time that I remember in my life. I am a husband, father and mentor to young athletes. I want to inspire young people to live healthy. I want my kids to be able to say “My Dad loved me enough to do all he could to to stay around as long as he could.” I want my wife to be able to barely work during the day some days thinking about her hot hubby! LOL. I want to continue to better myself from the spiritual part of me outward to the physical part of me. I know with prayer and dedication to the task at hand I can achieve all that I am aiming for.

Well for anyone reading my purpose. sorry for all the typo errors. I am horrible at it. Fingers are faster then the keyboard. Hope you all get it. Thanks, Gretchen

"Why" THere are a lot of reasons I am doing what I am doing. My soul purpose is for me. I want to feel good about the way I look and be comfortable inside and out. I want to be the parent and grandparent that can go out and do all things with the kids. I don't want to be the one at home that can barely move and not have a purpoes in life. I refuse to turn out that way. So I have made the decision to get healthy and stay healthy and teach adults and children about the process of change. It is not a hard thing and shouldn't be a acarey thing. It is what we have to do as people. My other soul purpose for "Why" is my family. My husband is 38 years old and currently at 281 pds, was 307 in Sept and had thyroid cancer 6 years ago and struggles with weight lose, has high liver counts and high cholestrol and now is trying to lose because I have showed him my change. It has affected him and he is down 26 pounds since sept 3rd 2008. I am so proud of him .This makes me want to keep doing it for him. That is an all out purpose. He is my life and I want to be jumping mountians or whatever when we are 80, not barely walking and missing out on life.The same goes for my kids. I am starting them now on purpose of eating healthy and exercising. I want people to notice me for the change and make the change also. I have changed so much as a person already with what changes I have made. There are so many people who have started exercise because of my wisdom and courage to make a change. Just today my friend who I have been workig with on losing weight told me her husband who worksout all the time but didn't watch his diet or just ate what we call normal 3 meals switched to eating 6 small meals a day and has lost 10 pounds. Then another dear friend and mom at my childrens school said, Gretchen you look so great it made me start working out. She did that and she has lost 10 pounds. What a great feeling. What a great purpose in life. To change the people around us. I have tears in my eyes. It is such a happy feeling. I have never felt so good about what I have done and become and what I have in store for me when I get to where I fully want to be. Watch out. The new Gretchen is in the house. If you want help I will help you get started to a new life. Purpose: Everlasting health happiness, a full soul. Anything can be done. I know know that. Thanks, This was good for me. I needed to get that out and now on to the paper to be put into my journal to read everyday. Changing mine, my family my friends and whom ever else I can spires life. a true purpose. Gretchen

I want to surprise myself and not quit! I want to inspire my children to set goals and take steps towards the goals and the reach the goals and for to climb their way up to a higher plane and more meaningful life~ thanks for this important question ~Sheridan

Lesson #4 Transformation Purpose - My "Why" I want to transform - What's my point in doing this finally?

I want to transform to be happy with who I am and accept that all things in my life are for a purpose. As long as I breath on this earth God has a purpose for me. Drowning myself in food, alcohol, instant gratifaction and negativity is not part of that purpose.

I want to transform to inspire and show others in my life (past, present and future) by example that it can be done with a little perseverance and dedication and being open to help from my higher power (God). It does not have to be perfect. I can be a champion to others by keeping my self promises and reaching out to others with love and respect.

I want to live with purpose rather than living in fear and isolation.

I've been putting off actually sitting down and reading assignment 4 and completing it. Why? I'm afraid that I can't think of a good enough why. The larger part of that fear is worrying what others will think. All my life, I have lived to try to live up to what other people thought of me. I've been the good daughter, the good friend, the good wife, and the good mother. I've also been the bad daughter, the bad friend, the bad wife and the bad mother. Always beating myself up when I fail. Just like everyone else, there have been some wonderful victories and some awful failures. I judge myself according to a different standard though. Somehow, even when I'm good, I'm not good enough. I've won a beauty pagent, but in my own mind, I'm not pretty enough. I've achieved success in academics, but somehow, I'm not smart enough. Other people have said they admire me, but I don't admire myself. I can listen to others, pinpoint thier problems and give advice but I can't follow it for myself. Enough already. I'm tired of beating myself up over imagined faults. I truely desire to "be the change". I desire to accept myself in all the ways that I can accept others. Is this part of my why? It seems a little to "me" oriented. I want to turn it around and make it about others. I know that the way I see and treat myself affects all the people I come in contact with. My husband, my children and my friends all are influenced by me. Like the saying goes "If Momma's not happy, nobody's happy." So I guess one part of my why is I want to influence my family, friends and others to treat themselves with respect. The only way I can do that is to live it. I will respect my success and my failures, knowing it takes both to grow me and make me the person God created me to be. That leads me to the other part of my why. I believe that I have been placed, here on this earth, for a plan and a purpose, other than my own. Before I ever started this challenge I placed a new wallpaper on my desk top. It says "Don't waste your life!" followed by a scripture. "I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received." Eph. 4:1. I believe I have been called to something more than just dragging around from day to day, getting chores done. My calling is my family. I can't influence them in a positive way if I am so negative about myself. I can also share Christ more effectivly by my actions rather than paying Him "lip service". So in short my purpose or whys are: 1. I will treat myself with respect so my family and friends will learn from my example to treat themselves with respect. Respect meaning - positive speech, inside and out. Respecting my body by eating for health and exercising to increase the quality and quantity of my life. 2. I will live a life worthy of my calling. I will lead by example. I will be what God has called me to be. I will reach out to others in my life. Melinda

For me, it took me a fraction of a second to answer this: Because I love my Wife & my Children! My physical health is paramount! I do not want to be a burden. I want to be the best role model I can be for my kids. I want my wife to be proud of me! Better “boom-chick-a-boom-boom”, LOL. My mental health is paramount! As a business owner, providing for my family is vital. I need to stay mentally sharp, fight depression and negativity. Staying alert to my clients unspoken needs, not sleepwalking throughout the day. My spiritual health is paramount! I feel that “purpose” in this area feeds all of the other area’s of my life! I am religious, but not extreme. I need the fuel from doing unexpected good deeds to others! I need to do more of this, it is my purpose!

My transformation purpose... Give my children what they deserve - a strong, healthy, happy, loving mother. To get my life in control. To be all God created me to be. To feel good, look good, be happy and live without fears. To have a regular wardrobe and not feel inadequate when shopping for clothes. To stop hiding from cameras. To let people love me and love back! To live life to the fullest.

My Purpose: To be a Hero, a Success Resource for my family, friends, strangers., to feel Good, to make a Difference, Self Respect, to live a Fuller life, to make the Most of myself and help others to do that, to be Lean and Healthy!!!

My transformation purpose is to be the best I can be. To take control of my life and really work towards taking care of my body. Remembering to put myself first and begin to live up to my own expectations and dreams instead of living life for others and sitting on the sidelines watching life pass me by. I CAN and I WILLare now the phrases that I live by regardless of what obsticles come my way. I don't want to be fat anymore and I don't want my children to develop bad habits either. Lori

My purpose is to be truely happy! When someone is happy it just shines through. Not only does that projection of happiness effect others it keeps that person feeling so good they have no excuse not to do good, feel good, and act good. I want to be so happy I pass it on to everyone I meet....like a cold only better! And inspire my family to do the same.

My purpose is to bring BALANCE to my life. I have always had an "all of nothing" kind of attitude and (as Coach Stoney suggested!) I need to take a step back and take a deep breath and just be thankful about the little things. Focus on small steps and it will all come together down the road, on this transformation journey. No more obsessing on missteps, just move forward and learn from them. Work on staying positive and doing positive things everyday, even if they are small things. I will no longer be derailed by a mistake, I will focus on how to avoid it next time, figure out how to make better choices in different situations and just give myself the breaks I need. As long as I am learning, I am changing for the better. I am so grateful for the opportunities I have been given in this life! I am blessed with a healthy, strong body and a supportive, beautiful and loving family. Thank you God! I will remember this and do whatever I can to honour it everyday. Baby steps will still take me there.

I would like to be transformed into the person that I was created to be, physically and spiritually. I want to reach my full God-given potential and I don't want to waste anymore of this life that I have been given. I want my passion to be fully restored.

My purpose is to be an inspiration to those around me. I was raised to be an atheist and had enough bad things in my childhood to make believe there must not be a God. Now I am an active Christian and my family sees it. I have the potential to be obese and my family and friends look to me for fitness inspiration. My daughter is developing a little stomach and I have to teach her a healthier lifestyle. If I don't lose weight I will end up needing a knee replacement when I am in my 50's. If... No when I succeed in this Transformation as well as my spiritual Transformation I will show my family and friends that it does not matter where you come from. Your destiny is not set in stone by your history or your family's history. We all have the power to erase history and create a new destiny.

I keep this in front of me here at work all day! I am going to write it down and have it in the car and around the house too!

Assignment #4- In the beginning… My initial plan was to lose weight, get a set of abs and hopefully win some money for my family. All pretty selfish ideas and reasoning. Today my WHYS have changed… Today it is no longer about the weight, money and abs, yes these are goals that remain but the reason I want these things are now clearer. I am making this transformation so that I will not die. I am making this transformation so that I will have a life worth living. I am making this transformation so that I will be an example to my wife and children and everyone else that will be watching. I am making this transformation so that I can take this message to others struggling with addiction and spiritual neglect. I am making this transformation so that my past will not define me. I am making this transformation for me and you…all of you! Robert S. Smith Rob

I am doing this transformation for one very strong reason and that is my health. My father died 3 years ago from cancer and diabeties. My brother had a heart attack at 53 years old. My family is very unhealthy and I see them going downhill everyday. I have 3 children and a grandson and I want to be around a long time to enjoy them. I want to not be so tired and in so much pain because I am overweight. I want to stop being so ashamed of who I am and how I look and stop hiding from it. I want to be happy again.

My Tranformation purpose is to rid myself of the negative self image that I identified in Assignment 1. I need to do this b/c I am tired of just showing up in the world and going through the motions. I want to refocus my energy on positive things and really make a difference. I want to Be Inspired so that I can INSPIRE

I need to forgive myself for things that happened in the past and change my focus to what's happening now, so that I can be present for my sweet, loving children. I need to stop punishing my body and get healthy. I need to accept God’s love and forgiveness so that I’m whole. I need to stop thinking of myself as a bad person and focus on the good I can do. I need to break out of my protective shell and let in new people and experiences. All of these things add up to why I need to complete my transformation now…this year…2009!

Assignment #4 The power of Purpose When I signed up for T.com I thought my purpose was to lose 25 lbs of baby fat. However deep down inside I knew that my outer condition was just a reflection of my inner condition. An inner condition full of shame, condemnation, low self-worth, anger, apathy along with gifts, callings and dreams lying dormant. My purpose for this transformation is to stop being a victim of my past hurts, failures and mistakes and to start living in freedom. My purpose is to stop holding back and getting in my own way of the life called has God me to live. My purpose is to live in truth and stop lying to myself and believing the lies of the enemy. My purpose is to deal with and resolve all past and present issues that keep me stuck in the place I am in. My purpose is to give and receive forgiveness, to heal and be made whole. I cannot and will not put this off any longer. My purpose is to get healthy, mentally, physically, spiritually and emotionally for only when I am healthy can I be in healthy relationships around me. I refuse to allow my past hurts and present situation to any longer affect my relationship with my husband and my kids. I must become healthy and set free so I do not destroy my kid’s lives. My purpose is to become the best mom and wife I can be, full of joy, energy, love, patience. My purpose is to stop hurting others and to start lifting others up. My purpose is to surrender my ego. My purpose is to leave a legacy. Not only for my children, but for generations to come and for those all around me, that my life could be an example for others. I know that when I am healthy I will be able to fulfill my God given purpose in life and I will be able to give back to others. I want to be hope and a light for those in the world that feel they cannot make it another day. My purpose is to Be the change.

My life is a selfish and superficial one when I live in an unconscious way. As soon as I'm mindful of my purpose my life feels rich and full and spiritually on track. This is why I know my purpose--To live in peace and love with myself and everyone around me. I find that this is totally impossible when I am not healthy. So this is how it goes for me::::The more I transform into a healthier me, the better I feel::::The better I feel, the better I treat everyone else. Clear and simple :) Bill, I must say that this exercise came at the perfect time for me. Peace, Lou

To be free to be me and help others to achieve that goal also, love you, Mona

I am doing this Transformation to become happier, healthier and to not be so self-conscious. I want my change to inspire others so they can live fuller lives. I want to set the best example for my children and family so they will be healthy and hopefully not have to feel the way I have in the past. Thanks to everyone for keeping me motivated so that I may reach my goals and by doing so help others reach theirs! Leanne.

My Transformation Purpose – Assignment #4 I've read several others' posts. I've commented on some. And all the while, I contemplate my own. It’s taken me weeks to get to this point. And I apologize in advance for the length of this missive; I find myself – my inner voices – wanting to be heard…mostly by me. So, here are my thoughts re: my Transformation Purpose….. When my mother was alive (she died June 30, ’08), and I took care of her and my younger sister (both paranoid schizophrenics), I had a purpose. I would guess it's similar to what someone with children feels. Sick children. A purpose to ensure that their children grow as best they can, as healthy as possible, in every sense of the word. With my mom and sister, I knew my purpose was to make sure bills were met, meds were taken, treatments were sought, appointments were kept, food was served, the slightest of indications that meds weren't being taken were watched for and dealt with, caseworkers were communicated with, and so on and so on. That purpose, in great part, led to my neglecting myself and, in order to cope, stuffing myself with food to numb "self" thoughts and wishes and dreams. As Glinda, the character in Wicked, sings, “…wishing only wounds the heart…” THAT is what I had subscribed to outwardly, but inwardly, my real purpose refused to be silenced. In early 2001, when by the grace of God my older sister had no choice but to live with my mom, thus care for her, and at the same time, when my younger sister was safely engaged in her own world, a place that provided the care she needed, I was gifted the opportunity to go fulfill my purpose, or what I thought my purpose was, for as long as my sister and her family needed to live with my mom. I had, for sure, at least one year’s time. And so I left all I knew (family, friends, job, etc.), sold what I had, and with a Uhaul trekked cross-country from Chicago to California in pursuit of my dream. No job. No friends. Nothing but me, God, and my cat, Cosette. Just prior to leaving Chicago, my then best-friend had been giving me a bit of grief for doing this without any "sure thing" awaiting me on the other end. I think I understood, even then, that all of her disagreements were born out of her fear that I was leaving her. She and I were both overweight, and as long as we had one another to eat our way through life and pretend we weren’t missing anything, I guess it was good. But after days of her being negatively vocal about my decision, I finally turned to her and said, "Donna, if I could quelch the voices in my head telling me that this is what I must do and where I belong, I would...but I can't." Donna paused a moment and then responded by saying, "I wish I had voices in my head." It's ironic, the use of "voices," given the schizophrenia that runs in my family. But that aside, I share this story because I KNOW what it's like to feel such a tremendous sense of purpose that it drives you. Drives you to do that which you aren't even sure how to do or that you actually CAN do. At some point, a baby bird knows it is to fly and must step off of the nest and take wing...on blind faith....because it knows it was meant to do just that: fly. I felt that purpose for years. And finally, I forced myself to be like NIKE and just do it. On the day I was to leave, it hit me…OMG what am I doing? I remember I was balling like a baby standing in my near-bare living room, not so sure any longer that any of this was such a good idea. I remember moving one last box and out from behind it fell a cassette tape. No other label on it, other than the words “FEAR NOT.” I had no recollection of from where this tape came. I put it in my pocket, exited my apartment, and in the pouring rain, drove to my mom’s house to say a final quick goodbye, and off I went…STILL sobbing. Shortly on the road, fears consuming me, I remembered the tape in my pocket, pulled it out and popped it into my car’s player. Without a doubt, this mysterious cassette tape labeled “FEAR NOT” was a gift from God. It spoke of how the single most uttered phrase in the Bible was just that: FEAR NOT. It spoke of how so many people with so much potential and so many God-given gifts “sit in the waiting room of life” rather than just try. It spoke about the consequences of living a life in fear: consequences for oneself, for one’s children and for others who may follow, and for people and situations one encounters and potentially may impact along the path of life. He spoke of how at the end of one’s life, living a life of fear results in a mountain of regret for all the “what ifs” and all the “should haves” and all the lost opportunities to be who you were meant to be and make a difference and fulfill what God had in store for you. That message that I choose to believe was from God gave me the strength to carry on, and while I wish I could say I never feared following it, as Mark Twain said: “Courage is not the absence of fear, but the mastery of it,” I would feel the fear and do it anyway. “Be Bold and Might Forces Shall Come to Your Aid.” And they always did. In the beginning while out in California, I pursued my purpose with a passion. I won a couple of key competitions with my storytelling. I met key people. I seemed on the right path, and doors seemed to open for me. Then 9/11 happened, and everything shut down. Even I seemed to shut down…with fear and doubt. Still, I pursued, believing that what I had to say on a public forum was, indeed, fulfilling the reason I was put on this earth. But given the economy, things just seemed to stop…and fears set in and doubt began to whisper. Who did I think I was? How could what I have to say be “good enough.” While throughout my life, in times of doubt, I would always rely on my father for wisdom, my father at this time had already left this earth to be with God. I did not, to be honest, believe my mother would be able to console me, given her illness and her more introvert nature. But on one very lonely, fearful day, when I doubted at my core just about everything, I called my mother in choking tears. I fully expected her to tell me to come home. After all, she never wanted me to leave in the first place. Instead, another miracle: my mother told me that when she was first in America, she had nothing…no friends…didn’t speak the language…lived in a tiny apartment without even any furniture. And she, too, wanted to run back home to Italy. But, she said, she knew that that is what it’s like for everyone when they first get to a new place…and that, in time, my new home would be just that…home. My mother was right. So I stayed. And then life happened. Making ends meet. And of course, more fears set in, mostly about “not being good enough” and “money” and “keeping up with friends my age who already had families and houses and more” and, and, and... So when an opportunity for traditional means of making a living came calling, I shut down my inner voices and abandoned what I believed I was meant to do. I began to work in corporate. And even though within my career, I always have found ways to fulfill a sense of purpose (i.e. putting out a charity calendar allowing my company and anyone who tapped into our services to have a portion of their sales go to their choice of charity), it's never quite been the same. One of my favorite movies is, “It’s A Wonderful Life.” In a great many ways, I relate to George Bailey. He always wanted to “shake off the dust of this crummy little town” and “be an explorer” and dreamed of “building things.” In the end, he watched as all his friends moved on to “bigger and better,” while he stayed home and toiled, more for others than himself. It’s not until the end of the story that George realizes how important his life really is…how much his one life touches so many others…and how HE is the “richest man in town.” Now, with the death of my mom six months ago, I suddenly was thrust into the realization that not only had my worldview purpose dimmed, but so, too, now, had my "caretaker" purpose been cut in half. NOW what was I? What was I doing here? Does my life at all have any meaning? Do I make a difference to anyone any longer? What special gifts was I meant to share? This Transformation has sparked within me – once again – the search to understand, pursue and fulfill my purpose. Obama’s words speak to what I have allowed in my life of late and to what I need to change: "Focusing your life solely on making a buck shows a certain poverty of ambition. It asks too little of yourself. Because it's only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you realize your true potential." And so, I believe I have come to my Transformation purpose: • to realize that I am “good enough”… • to make a difference, no matter how big or how small, in myself and for others I encounter • to fear not and to do what is right and what should be done, despite opposition or lack of ease • to KEEP trying because only when you give up have you, indeed, failed • to ask MORE: of myself, of others, of this world • to start living intentionally, committed to causes and follow-thru • to put purpose ahead of profit • to say what I mean and mean what I say • to realize that everyone is doing his/her best at any given moment, and as a result, to accept them for where they are and to be present to help them with what they may need to grow • to find and flourish in every aspect of my life both balance and boundaries • to live in the present and show gratitude for all with which I am blessed • to not “play small” for to do so diminishes my light and shadows any inspiration or encouragement to others to follow suit and not “play small” themselves • to see myself as part of the whole and the bigger picture, something larger than myself to realize my true potential, and to live my life for something that far outlasts it And in this last bullet point of purpose, I have come to realize that I was meant to use my storytelling and writing talents and my experiences (both good and bad) and the wisdom God has granted me to date to share with others, be they my family and friends, the people I work with, the people I encounter by chance, the world, even, in every conceivable way, for the purpose of, hopefully, making a difference for the better. And in a way, in a small way, this Transformation forum allows me to do just that….for a start. Paolina Milana

195 days ago my purpose, my why was so that " I could be an example to others so that they may achieve a healthy ,happier more spiritual life. I want to give others what I am getting here". As I revisited my note I kept on my blog and thought about my purpose and why again I felt I read it, understood it, but didn't practice them to their full potential as they related to me. As I begin my second journey I feel I am living my purpose, exercising my "why" and improving on them by being more active by giving to this community more so this time than last. And I think as I continue on this path this assignment for me will always have the potential to be improved upon. Troy.

I am dedicated to this Transformation Challenge for my health, first, and to open the blocked parts of my life, second. They really are hand-in-hand, I am so grateful for all the blessings I have in my life, and for all the challenges I have been given this past year, and the previous ones. However,, I know that I many times give myself the problems that lead to destruction. Procrastination, clutter of the mind, body and house, and an optimistic spirit coupled with a underlying feeling that now matter what I do, it will come out wrong - still is in my life after all these years, and seems to affirm itself in disastrous ways - sometime self-inflicted. I don’t know if I can change that, however, I do know that the transformation is internal first, and if I can’t get my motivation for the things that are causing me fear and paralysis in my life, I can take action and go workout and eat clean. Using the law of physics, I can take the proper actions and at least change this physical body God has given me. I do believe that with every week of “unwrapping the gorgeous body that is underneath” I will also melt the other fat in my life and with God’s guidance, continue on this mission I have been given. Time is of the essence. I will not be losing weight, I will be gaining my essential self back. Thank you for your words, Bill. You are up there in my 10 most influential people. Connie

I’ve realized that my health is just as important and worth fighting for as my marriage. In the past I always thought losing weight would make my family proud. However, my life was out of balance and weight, since it wasn’t important to me, wasn’t a priority. Selfish? Yes. It’s a fact. Should my family’s concern for me have been motivation enough? Yes. Should my wife’s plea for me to lose weight have been enough to get me off my butt? Yes. Was it? No. Why not? I’ve learned that it has a lot to do with balance. My spiritual life was waning, my mind was under stimulated due to my perceived high levels of stress, my work dominated my thoughts and actions, and my health was in shambles. I’ve learned that mind, body, spirit, and work must be in balance in order to live a healthy life. I was out of whack. How could I be the man I was meant to be while living in a state of imbalance? I couldn’t. I’ve finally reached a point where I realize that I must control my health for ME and not anyone else. It seems so easy now that the proverbial board has smacked me in the face. I’m on a mission. I have health goals. I work out, train, and eat very differently than I ever have before in my life. I’m alive! I’m reinvigorated. My blood is moving again. I’m proud of my accomplishments—even the small ones. I can once again look into the mirror and smile. I still don’t like the body I see, but I like the man…yes, I like the man.

My body is a God-given tool/vehicle that houses my intellect and spirit. I am making a conscious decision to make the tool as clean and healthy as possible so that the intellect and spirit can soar. I'm talking cellular level here. I want the pores on my body to be clear and open, breathing, letting that inner spirit "radiate" and my mind to be clear, focused and sharp. I can't think of a greater gift to myself in the brief time I pass through this world. Bring the body, the mind will follow and the spirit will shine. Mary

My purpose in life is to commune with God, worship Him in my thoughts, words, and actions. Sadly, this hasn't been my way of life in recent years, and I have seen the destructive fruit in my marriage and my children from my lack of fellowship with my Creator. It has been brought to my attention that I am an influencer-for the good or bad, and I am acknowledging that it is my responsibility to be my best in every area of my life, that I may inspire others to the greatness that each of us have the potential to manifest. Who would have thought that spiritual liberty could come by way of a physical discipline? I want to know that I have squeezed every last drop of day out of my life by living a healthy life spiritually, mentally, and physically. I want to leave a legacy--something worth leaving behind. To the blessing of my children, and to the glory of God.

Assignment 4 My Transformation Purpose! With a big enough "Why", the "How" just flat takes care of itself! My "Why" is to be able to embrace this life to the fullest! To really live like there is no tomorrow, I must have the drive, energy and courage to face the challenges of today. In the successful completion of this transformation challenge lies the keys to fulfilling my grandest vision of who and what I am. It's time to bring this body and mind into submission. Though the flesh may be weak, the Spirit is strong. Through this holy alignment of body and mind with Soul, I will free myself from all mental and physical addictions. Then, and only then, will I be able to live life from Center. This is my purpose and this is my intention.

My reason is simple.....I want to be complete. Patti

Assignment 4 – Transformation Purpose I believe I was led to this site for a reason. I suppose I was ready to make a change after living so long under par. I am a very angry person, and find it hard to communicate my feelings in a calm way. Probably because I’m scared of the comeback – of being shouted at and told I’m horrible. I know this isn’t true, but it was how I was brought up and I’m trying to overcome it. I smoked cigarettes for 23 years – 30-40 a day at least in my 20s and early 30’s. It was disgusting, first thing in the morning to last thing at night. I also did lots of drugs, mainly speed and coke for years, plus very heavy drinking. I didn’t eat properly, exercise or think about anything spiritual. I must have really hated myself. And all the money I wasted on cigarettes, booze and drugs….. I need to become less angry. Eating properly and exercising regularly can only help that. I’ve also joined a meditation group. I don’t want this Transformation challenge to become just a nutrition and exercise programme – it is something more than that, and this site has so many wonderful intelligent people on it. I am very grateful that I was led here. I want to get my self-respect back. I want to love myself. I want to make a change in other people’s lives and be there for them – to engage. I don’t want to sit in front of the TV every night drinking wine and wondering where my soul mate is. I want to get out there in the fresh air, cycling and running. I want to get fit, raise my energy levels, pump up my muscles and feel alive and sexy again! We are so lucky living in the West. I saw ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ recently. What an amazing film! I always knew India was poor, and many of the beggars were children who’d been deliberately deformed, but when you see it on the screen you see how terrible some people’s lives are – homeless, on the streets – and these are children. I think I would be overwhelmed if I went there. We are so lucky. It’s time we realised that. (OK, sermon over!). I am in the process of positive changes, and this Challenge is part of that. I’ve made a commitment to finish it and succeed – and I will.

I had a tough time trying to put down my transformation purpose. Here is why: When I first became acquainted with the Transformation challenge, I didn’t pay much attention – thinking it was a weight-loss/physical fitness program. My wife began the program and I not only started to see her transform physically but mentally, spiritually as well. Somewhere toward the end of the year (October) I decided to join in as I was now convinced there was something more here… problem was I didn’t commit and quite frankly didn’t invest the time to find out. In December I finally made the commitment to change – but still didn’t understand what it really meant. If I answered this question on the first day of my transformation challenge (1/12), I would have said my purpose was to lose some weight, gain muscle and get into good physical condition with a nice dose of some mental/spiritual growth… WOW, it is amazing what a couple of weeks have done already to me. The work-outs and nutrition are great and I am already seeing effects, but I never imagined how much of an impact just a few early deep-dives into myself would be. I started with all of the things I thought sounded right – do it for my family, the relationship with my wife, the relationship with my friends, so I can help others, etc… but after several days of trying to get to the bottom of why I felt I needed to do it for this list, I realized I was barking up the wrong tree (thank you Champions Marty, Shane and Penny – for the encouragement and good words). My family life COULD get better, my relationship with my wife COULD get better, my relationship with my friends (trust me – after a good hard count, I still can’t believe how few “real friends” I have allowed into my life) COULD get better, I could help others more… but NOT UNTIL I fixed some real serious and fundamental issues with ME. Yes, for ME! So, this has been a long answer to a short but difficult question. The purpose for me making the transformation is because I need to fix ME. I need to change the way I am inside with myself – rid myself of all the negative energy - only then do I have the potential to make the external things better. Only then do I have the ability to reach the highest potential in all aspects of my life.

I will revisit this assignment in a couple to few weeks because thinking clearer and the ability to articulate well are on my list of desires to transform. Right now my purpose for this first Transformation is to free myself from myself. The limitations and negativity that I have allowed to wear me down I want to get rid of. In your post above, you said something about living accidentally. That hits it right on the head. That is how I have lived my whole life and it is a scary way to exist. I want to live with intention. I want to enjoy this process and stop wishing my precious days away. I want to find out what I can do for a living that makes me happy and fulfilled. I want peace. I want to be free in my mind and then share that gift with others who are prisoners in their minds. I want to have a purpose. I find this assignment difficult because I have been going through a lot of soul searching lately over never having children. That is a magnificent purpose with many purposes woven into your existence from the time of conception. I would like to make peace with the fact that I did not have children. That would be great. Like I said, I will revisit this assignment. Thanks Bill for caring and sharing. GBA, Ashley

My purpose is to put the whole issue of "getting in shape" behind me. I'm really tired of talking about getting in shape. Thinking about getting in shape. Wishing I was in shape. I know people around me are tired of hearing about it. I want to once and for all stick to the plan and regain fitness. I want running to be a joy rather than a labor. I want to be able to ski longer than 1/2 day, I want to never hear my kids call me "fat daddy" (no malice intended from them, its what I am, they just say what they see).

My pourpose in life is to become the best person I can be, inside and out!! I want to live my life to its fullest, full of energy, and with no regrets!! I'm 23 years old and I've been unhappy with the way I've been living my whole life! I want to change this while I am still young!! I've always been unhealthy, fat, negitive, and out of control!! I've always turned to food as my friend when somebody hurt me or I felt out of control, it gave me comfort. I am a Christian and this is wrong.. I need to turn to God when I hurt or need somebody to lean on. I've never really been focused on what I've wanted to become, because I've never really had anybody tell me how to do it!! If I just keep living the way I am now, I will never be happy! But that is soon about to change! I want to focus more on my spirtiual side, because I know that once I change these things everthing else will fall into place....

I am transforming myself physically, emotionally, and spiritually because I know that I can be healthier in all aspects. I want to have a sense of being in control of myself, and not let others be in control of my destinations. I have had a hard time with focus in my life, I start things all the time, but the enthusiasm runs dry shortly thereafter. I have always aspired to be fit and healthy, knowing it is obtainable, yet I have not put the effort in long enough to reap the benefits. I NEED to prove to myself that I can actually set a goal, and follow through start to finish.

My Transformation Purpose is to be the role model for my 2 year old little girl. She thinks daddy walks on water. I can tell she’s a daddy’s girl and I need to be that positive role model for her. How can I do that if I’m not in the best shape physically and spiritually that I can be? On January 1, 2009 I looked into the mirror and was not happy with what I saw. What I saw in the mirror and with my before picture was a broken man, a defeated man, someone who was out of shape and out of touch with reality. How in the world did I let this happen? Here stands a man that is a Black Belt in the Martial Arts but had let his life slip away. When I look at my wife and little girl, I need to be here in the future for them and if I do not change that might not be possible. I told myself right there enough is enough and I need to Transform. I need to put my life back in order and it has to start now and there is no turning back. “Winners never quit and quitters never win!” I have never been or never will be a quitter so when I looked at the man that I became it lit the fire under me to start right now. I set up goals for myself and keep a food journal, a workout journal and document everything that is going on and how I’m feeling. Just two short weeks into this Transformation I have lost 15 pounds 2% body fat and know that this is just the beginning. Here are my 5 points to my Transformation Purpose: 1) To be a lean and healthy husband and daddy for my beautiful wife and adorable little girl. 2) To be able to get down on the ground a play with my little girl and to have the energy to keep up with her. 3) To have a happy and fulfilled spiritual and emotional lifetime with my family. 4) To look in the mirror and be happy at what I see and to say I’m a winner each and every day of my life. 5) To live a life long dream of seeing my little girl grow up, go to college, get married and have children of her own that she can pass down the great values that I showed her, by being the best role model and daddy that I can be. This is what makes my Transformation Purpose and I will not stop until I reach the top and be the best that I can be. I pray every day to the Good Lord above asking for pardon and strength to make the best choices possible and to be transformed in body, soul and mind Amen. John W.

I want to feel better about myself. Not to feel disgusted by the lack of respect I show myself when I eat things that aren't healthy. I want to show my daughter how important it is to love and take care of herself. I know how much better I felt when I was eating right and exercising on a regular basis. My confidence was up and I wanted to take on the world. I miss that feeling and would like to have it back.

ASSIGNMENT #4 – MY PURPOSE: I want this transformation, no, I need this transformation for myself. I am 57 years old – and now is MY time! I want to stop being a quitter! I want to actually see this through to the very end – the first “end” being the 18 weeks of staying on program, but then on to the next “end” of the next challenge, and so on until I no longer see myself as a failure and a quitter. The fact that I have exercised six times a week since I started my Transformation and have come to enjoy it and look forward to it is proof to me that this is the real thing. Seeing this Transformation through for the 18 weeks will be a life-changer for me. I know that 18 weeks will be the end of the challenge but it will just be the beginning of a new life for me -- a life where I am being set free from the baggage that has kept me in bondage since I became a victim of incest as a four-year old child. I will no longer be a victim! Being sexually abused for years as a young child defined me for the rest of my life – up to this point – but I don’t want to be that person any longer! I have settled for less than the best all my life because I never could see myself as “worth” anything better. I have tried for over 20 years to see the Teresa the Lord had intended me to be, but the lies of the enemy would always win out and I would always quit before I achieved success. I now want to be who God made me to be – all that God made me to be. I have taught many adult classes, spoken at many women’s events, and am a Children’s Pastor, but deep inside I have still felt like a failure because I have not been disciplined enough to lose weight and make this “temple” worthy of the Lord’s indwelling. I really feel the Lord has led me to Transformation at this particular time to finally break through the barriers that have enslaved me to “failure-thinking”. With my daughter Devin as my partner, and with Clarissa and the accountability group, and this wonderful community of supporters, I can now become all that God has meant for me to be. I just realized that I had never posted the answer to Coach Stoney's 5 questions. I had them in my Success Book but I hadn't put them here. 1. Where am I now? Look at my Before picture and read my Assignment 1 blog. As of 1/1/2009: My early morning naked weight: 172 Hip measurement: 48 Bust measurement: 42 Wasit measurement: 40.5 Rt Thigh: 23.5 Rt Arm: 12 Chest (above bust): 36.5 Health-wise: I have developed arthritis in my hands, particularly my thumbs (disfiguring arthritis runs in my father's family); my "good" cholesterol isn't good - they said I need exercise to get the #'s where they should be; I have "silent" acid reflux that I never knew I had but it has really messed up my throat to where I was seeing a throat specialist over the last year; I am allergic to all milk products; I get winded really easy, etc. etc. Spiritually: I feel I am not the witness for the Lord that I want to be. They see my body before they hear my words, and my body does not reveal victory. I know that I am not all that the Lord meant for me to be. He designed me for a plan and a purpose, but I have not allowed Him to be Lord over my appetite and my habits. I want to transform my relationship with Him also to be closer to Him, to be more obedient to Him, to not give in to the desires of my "own" nature but to be obedient to Him. Emotionally: I have spent the past 12 years trying to "unstuff" all the garbage that I stuffed deep inside from my victimization beginning at age 4. The Lord has been peeling me like an onion, one layer of garbage removal at a time, and now is the time for this! When I reach the end of my 18 weeks, I will feel like I have really made a breakthrough and will be on my way to rebuilding the "me" that God wanted me to be. I spent much more time now thinking positive thoughts and having positive goals, and I don't let myself focus on the negative, the lies that the enemy has always tripped me up with. It's exciting to have a goal that I know I really can reach - I really can be a winner! 2. Where am I going? I made my "after" picture my profile picture because I need to see it before me as much as I can - this is going to be my reality! 3. Why? I answered this in the "My Purpose" above. I want to be all that God planned for me to be! 4. When? I'm 57 years old - I can't waste any more time. NOW is the time for the new me to begin transforming. I'm the chrysalis that will transform into a beautiful butterfly. 5. How? Starting each day with the Lord because that's where my strength comes from first and foremost. But that alone didn't get me thinner and healthier - that's where Transformation 2009 comes in. My partner in this transformation, my daughter Devin, is such an important part of this. I know this is the Lord's timing for both of us. But we both need even more - we need Clarissa and the Accountability group, Stoney, Dude, Bill's radio calls, and all the other wonderful people that are there to support and encourage us. But another big part of this is me reaching out and encouraging others. Everytime I post an encouragement on someone else's thread, I feel a burst of energy, a deeper commitment (I don't really know how to explain it but it's there). And Eric at the gym, the fitness specialist who did my assessment and orientation - I asked him to help me be accountable. So it all works together - every part is essential. I need them all in order to be a success and complete this transformation!

My whole life, I was never given any credit or cmpliments for what I did right. I remember once in maybe 3rd or 4th grade, I was in a spelling bee. I did really well, but did not win. When I misspleeled the word and had to take my seat, I never heard from my mom "you really did a good job". I was told that I need to sit like a lady. Not another word was mentioned. That sticks with me right up to today. I want to do this for me. I want to look in the mirror and say "You did a really nice job". I may not get to perfection, but I do not need to please anyone but myself.

Ok. So I thought that Assignment 4 was easy. I have been chewing on it since 1/15 (I try to do an Assig. per week) but I haven’t had a chance to sit down and write it down, however, something didn’t fit right. Of course I want to get better for my kids, my husband, to have more energy and most of all for myself. I had put myself second for so long that I just let myself go. I realized that if I’m better and happy with myself, I can better for my family. Easy! Or so I thought. I happened to realize this week and I’m not happy with my professional life. I’m a licensed attorney and Costa Rica where I was born and raised and moved to the US when my husband and I got married. I had only practice law in CR for 2 years. At the moment it was easy for me to move here than for my husband to move to Costa Rica with his business. It was hard, leaving my family, friends, career, house, everything that I had worked so hard to obtain. I was happy with the decision though, my husband is amazing, and after a few years of struggling with my fertility issues, we have 2 beautiful boys. My personal life is perfect, wonderful happy. My professional life is a mess. I wasn’t able to work as an attorney in Texas unless I go to law school again, and I refused for years to do that. I wasn’t going to pay and spend all the time in law school all over again!!! Now, it’s almost 9 yrs later and the best I did was becoming a paralegal and work for other attorneys. I’m so mad at myself for letting so many years passed and be in the same position as I was so many years ago. I have tried to convinced myself that all these years have given me a good experience in the legal field and a consistent job to pay the bill. But that is not enough for me. So, after being a stay-at-home for 2 yrs. I went back to work in October as a paralegal. Then I realized I had to do something else with my life! Then I found T.com and that has helped me a lot. When Bill was talking on Wednesday and said that this transformation is more than just a pretty body and to loose weight, something hit inside of me. It’s true, I need to find that thing that will make me happy as a person, as a woman, as a professional. I’m lucky enough to have a wonderful family life, but that is not enough for me. I need to live to my full potential. I want to wake up in the morning and have an urge to go to work, I want to feel a powerful drive to get me through the day. I want to feel the energy, the good vibe, I want to feel alive! Yesterday while I was working I realized that I don’t even know if I want to be a lawyer anymore, I don’t want to spend my days in courtrooms or sitting at a desk producing massive amounts of paper. So after a lot of thinking last night I think I need to get my license back but need to find a field that will give me a better sense of accomplishment. Maybe I can use my legal skills to help kids or the environment, something where I feel I’m giving back, I’m paying forward for all the blessings I have. This is a medium term goal, it is not going to happen anytime soon. So, I have come to the conclusion that I don’t know the response to Assignment 4… yet. My intention is to find deep inside of my soul what drives me, what will make me happy. If I loose 30 lbs. in the way that’ll be great….

My purpose for making the change is because I know we only get one shot at life. The way I've been living life people will remember me as a selfish,irresponsible, loser who drank too much and didn't care about anything. And that's not how I want to be remembered. I want to be a giving, loving, healthy man who lived for others and not himself. So I have to change so that when this life is over I can say I gave it my very best shot. I left nothing on the table. I used my god given talents to the fullest and I made other people's life's better.

For me, feeling better about myself is just the means to what my transformation is truly about: inspiring others and contributing too their quality of life. Community service was a large part of my life until a brain aneurysm ruptured and nearly killed me. I'll never forget the doctor's words when I survived: "You are a medical miracle. You have a guardian angel. And you have something most people don't get--a second chance at life." I want to show my appreciation for life by inspiring others not only to be physically healthy but to be emotionally sound. When I was a former personal trainer it was wonderful to see someone push through a plateau, overcome an injury or prepare for competition--I want to provide that encouragement again. My purpose is: to live a life that is an example to others of what it means to be happy from the inside and physically healthy. To use that example to improve the quality of life of others through ongoing community service, sharing my story and helping others achieve their life goals. To show that something as severe as being near death is just another a challenge to be overcome; that with inner strength and faith you can overcome.

I've written this out sooooo many times. Each time I thought I had my true purpose, something in my head would say, yea.... close, but no cigar.... I was searching for something when I found this site, I was already longing, but resisting God's attempt to teach me the lessons that are coming out of this process.... It is by no coincidence, that I found my way here! So, although I started this originally to find an inner strength to meet the upcoming challenges associated with my father's diagnosis of cancer, I have found that I have a much bigger purpose... My purpose for completing this challenge is: To create and know true inner joy, to reconnect and intimately know my true self; that part of me that is deeply rooted to God, other's and all of life. From this everything else; physical, intellectual, spiritual and emotional will follow. When I love and embrace myself fully, by taking care of my body, mind and spirit, only then am I able to be the wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend and collegue I truly wish to be. Only then am I able to show up in the world in a way that can make a difference in the lives of others. It starts with me. ~Traci Thanks Bill, this assignment alone has given me a sense of clarity and peace.

Assignment #4 the reason why I have to transform is because I have become a person who I have really become to dislike. I have hurt and lost friends. Almost lost my family. I have been selfish and very nonspirtual. I had hit rock bottom in so many levels. It just seem like something was telling me to do this and I googled your name (Bill P) to just see what you were up to and I found this site. I am doing this to turn my life around. I want to be a great person, a great friend , the best father, the best Husband. I have been so blessed to have second and third chances to become those things. Seriously without changing the last 2 months I dont know where I would be today? I want those things cause my wife, child , family, friends and clients deserve the best and I have not delivered that for a long time. I want to change for myself but more importantly I need to change for the people around me, cause they are the most loving caring and forgiving people. I need to change because of love. Because I love them!!

Assignment #4... somewhat difficult for me... I want to write what I want to hear... not so much what I need to hear. My purpose as for many is multilevel: It's like finding circles of the target putting something in it and then in the center really targeting in on the purpose. I'll post mine on my blog to keep reminding me.