This was kind of creepy as it is the second time this has happened to me. Months ago, I was in a really bad place. Wanting to just give up and on the verge of what I would say was a total mental breakdown, I laid in bed feeling like I was ready to lose it. I saw the my BFL book on my dresser. I started thinking of the stories in it and went over and picked it up. I immediately opened to page 100 title "Transform Adversity into Energy". Ok, now if that wasn't a message, then I don't know what was. I pulled myself out of bed, took my measurements, photos and entered a Tracker challenge. I made it the entire 12 weeks and made some definite progress.

Now, with some recent events, feeling out of sorts with what has been going on in my life and feeling a bit of an internal struggle, I was needing to write something for my team thread for tomorrow I opened up my Success Journal exactly to Day 51 and whamo, it smacked me upside the head and hard! I am blessed and I have No Excuses not to be successful in this lifestyle and this Transformation. I have all the tools, I just need to learn how to use all of them. When we want to blow off a workout, think of how many people out there would give anything to do that workout but can't because they are wheel chair bound, or think about it when you don't feel like going through the effort of fixing that authorized meal, how many people would give anything to have that healthy food. Let's count our blessings and show our appreciation for them by taking full advantage of them! I believe God is speaking to me, and I believe he is using Bills words to get through to me. If it isn't God, then Bill Phillips, how the heck are you doing that??

"Please don't lose sight of how great your life truly is!"

Maintaining an accurate perspective on your life can be a challenge. Oftentimes we convince ourselves that our lives are so hard, our circumstances so dire, that things couldn't possibly get worse. In times like these, it's vitally important to open your eyes and see the bigger picture. If you look, you will find people who are suffering true hardship and are facing adversity so much more challenging than yours. You will find people who would trade places with you in an instant, because, in reality, you are blessed, fortunate and have much to be thankful for! Please don't take your good fortune for granted. Please don't fall into the trap of believing that you are a victim of life. Please don't lose sight on how great your life truly is! And please realize that it is because of adversity that we grow, not in spite of it. Don't let your challenges hold you back; instead, let them fuel your desire to make the most of your life!
Bill Phillips-Lesson for Life- Success Journal Day 51

Count your blessings everyone! Be grateful. Love your people like there is no tomorrow!
Carolynn

This was kind of creepy as it is the second time this has happened to me. Months ago, I was in a really bad place. Wanting to just give up and on the verge of what I would say was a total mental breakdown, I laid in bed feeling like I was ready to lose it. I saw the my BFL book on my dresser. I started thinking of the stories in it and went over and picked it up. I immediately opened to page 100 title "Transform Adversity into Energy".

Maintaining an accurate perspective on your life can be a challenge. Oftentimes we convince ourselves that our lives are so hard, our circumstances so dire, that things couldn't possibly get worse. In times like these, it's vitally important to open your eyes and see the bigger picture. If you look, you will find people who are suffering true hardship and are facing adversity so much more challenging than yours. You will find people who would trade places with you in an instant, because, in reality, you are blessed, fortunate and have much to be thankful for! Please don't take your good fortune for granted. Please don't fall into the trap of believing that you are a victim of life. Please don't lose sight on how great your life truly is! And please realize that it is because of adversity that we grow, not in spite of it. Don't let your challenges hold you back; instead, let them fuel your desire to make the most of your life!
Bill Phillips-Lesson for Life- Success Journal Day 51

Great Inspiration.
May all your hopes and dreams come true.
--Craig

What is there to give up anyway. This is a normal sain lifestyle. You sleep, you eat correctly, you move correctly, you gain a real lot, you go back to sleep. What is there to give up. This is how humans function isn't it.

You guyes are doing great because you always come back from adversity... Keep on moving..

thanks it was a good thing for me to read right now. Thanks so much for sharing it!!

I think what it comes down to is what we are open to hear. People were offering advice and telling us it was all going to be OK. What we were feeling and seeing was a totally different story. Depression sets in and you start to feel that sense of doom. Nothing is going to change and nothing is going to get better. With that mindset, that is exactly what is going to happen....Nothing. We will remain in a miserable state and it won't get any better.

Since I first read the Body for Life Book, I believed in it. So many parts of what Bill said in his book, spoke directly at me. It almost felt like he had written it specifically for me. What that did, is also made me realize, I was not a freak, and it wasn't only me that had these problems or else, how could someone write about it. So, it gave me strength, it empowered me. I did the challenges, not hard core, but I was making a difference physically.

It wasn't until recently, this year, where my world was blown apart as I had known it, did I realize the change in me had to come from inside. I wasn't going to be able to make that beautiful transformation on the outside until I fixed what was inside. When you look at things in another light, when you tear down the wall you've put up around you, when you quit being so prideful and put on reading glasses to see things better, when you turn things over to God instead of carrying the load by yourself, that is when you will start feeling the change inside. My life is on it's way to doing a complete 360. God knows what he is doing, I believe he has been using the words of someone I believe in and have believed in to get through to me. He also started including people that Bill has put his faith in, to be part of his team to get through to me.

I could be way off, but at this point, who cares. My life is changing for the better. I owe it to God, Bill Phillips & his team and this beautiful community!

Carolynn

I think you nailed it in your first few words! I personally believe that God is there waiting for us to be ready to hear the message. Good energy and light are all around us. there are good people all around us yet it's only when we finally open the door and let him in that we really start to get it.

I'm so happy that you are being the change! Congrats, I wish you all the success in the world.

Dude

Ditto!

Hey - I don't think there are any concidences in life. I think everything happens for a reason and that God will send you the information you need WHEN you need it. LOVE seeing this in action - gives me goosebumps!

Reading your posts here, has reminded me of a quote ...


"I am God
Today I will be handling all of your problems.
Please remember that I do not need your help.

If life happens to deliver a situation to you that you
cannot handle, do not attempt to resolve it.
Kindly put it in the SFGTD (something for God to do) box.

It will be addressed in My time, not yours.
Once the matter is placed into the box,
do not hold on to it.

If you find yourself stuck in traffic; Don't despair.
There are people in this world for whom driving is an
unheard of privilege.

Should you have a bad day at work;
Think of the man who has been out of work for years.

Should you despair over a relationship gone bad;
Think of the person who has never known what it's like
to love and be loved in return.

Should you grieve the passing of another weekend;
Think of the woman in dire straits, working twelve
hours a day, seven days a week to feed her children.

Should your car break down, leaving you miles away
from assistance;
Think of the paraplegic who would love the opportunity to take that walk.

Should you notice a new gray hair in the mirror;
Think of the cancer patient in chemo who wishes she
had hair to examine.

Should you find yourself at a loss and pondering what
is life all about, asking what is my purpose?
Be thankful. There are those who didn't live long
enough to get the opportunity.

Should you find yourself the victim of other people's
bitterness, ignorance, smallness or insecurities;
Remember, things could be worse.
You could be them ! "

(Author Unknown)

This is an amazing post Paul. For this moment, this one paragraph is something I needed to hear and think about. I need this paragraph in my heart and in my head this week with a huge adversity taking place in our lives:

Should you find yourself the victim of other people's
bitterness, ignorance, smallness or insecurities;
Remember, things could be worse.
You could be them ! "

It will truly speak to me and I will HEAR it!

Thank you. God just spoke to me through you! I do hear him. I will listen to what he is telling me.

Carolynn

BFL is definitely a book I use for divination. I ask "What do I need right now?", open the book and there it is, the perfect answer. I

have a couple of books made for that purpose, too. They're by Carol Bolt. _Love's book of answers_ and _The soul's book of answers_ . The page I just opened to says "Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy." Thich Nhat Hanh.

I love Thich Nhat Hanh's work !

I especially enjoy his message about becoming fully-alive by "being present"
YouTube - Thich Nhat Hanh - The Daily Path Podcast from MyPath TV

I am listening to all of you. Thanks for the thoughts and strugles and inspiration and mindset we should have.