Entrepreneur and Publicity Coach Selena Soo once sent her community members an email named Show Me Your Friends, And I’ll Show You Your Future.

In this email, she talked about how her friends, with a humble beginning, have jump-started their life and business by surrounding themselves with the right influencers.

Generally speaking, to be successful, you need to surround yourself with the right people. It only sounds cliché because it’s true.

Exercise is crucial for health and longevity. A huge study published in JAMA Internal Medicine in May 2016, on 1.44 million Americans and Europeans, has linked a high level of physical activity to a reduction in the risk of 13 different cancers, including breast, colon, lung, and liver.¹ A low level of fitness is known to be a risk factor for cardiovascular and all-cause mortality.²

Of course you want to be healthy and fit. Who doesn’t? But are you always motivated and willing to do what you need to do to create health and fitness?

Derek McGuire  is a fitness expert that goes by the motto – “you gotta wanna.” He has become a close family friend over the last seven years. He was temporarily my trainer and has been my wife’s trainer for the better part of seven years. When I first met him, he was an affable, good looking and intelligent young man dedicated to his craft. Over the ensuing years, I have gotten to know Derek and am amazed. I have been going to the gym for 35 years, and I have never seen anyone, including professional bodybuilders, be able to transform his or her body like Derek. He has done it day in and day out for seven years. He has won a host of bodybuilding competitions. Here is a short list:

The third part of my journey left off when I was somewhere around twenty-six or twenty-seven years old. I was managing the Flamingo Athletic Club and living it up in South Beach with my Muay Thai crew. Behind closed doors, I was struggling with disordered eating cycles, depression, anxiety, body dysmorphia, and insomnia.

When I put my situation out there like that you’d think I was miserable. But again, when I think back to those days, a huge smile takes over my face. In the midst of inner turmoil, I just had so much fun. As they say, I am happy I went all out and “got it out of my system” at an “appropriate” age. This could not be said for everyone.

The first time at a KFC in the United States, I asked for a small soda, then was handed a jumbo-sized cup for self-service.

I said to the lady, “I’m sorry, I asked for a small.” She said, “This is a small.”

Then I walked out with a huge Dr. Pepper in hand. Twenty minutes later, I threw it away because all the sugar and carbonation in it made me bloated. I knew then that weight loss in America would be a challenge.

If you ask almost any overweight person, “Do you really want to lose weight?” The answer is likely, “Yes, I would love to lose weight.”

Most overweight and obese people want so much to lose weight that they spend thousands each year trying, so why is our country growing fatter? Why aren’t people losing weight when they say that it is what they want to do?

I was recently asked to give a talk about vegan fitness. I had to think about what valuable information and insights I bring to an audience…I mean, who doesn’t already know that it’s important to make consistent exercise a part of your lifestyle?

Exercise has been a part of my life since I was 5 years old, starting on the swim team, gymnastic team, dance classes, and later, after my growth spurt, volleyball in high school.