Patience is required

Someone emailed me that she was interested in personal training because she wanted to get in shape before a wedding she would be attending. When I spoke to her, I found out she had a week and a half before the wedding. I'm good, but I can't transform your body in a week.

I know someone who is constantly asking me about "quick fixes" she hears about. She has a lot of weight to lose and spends money on all sorts of things that she sees on tv or reads about in hopes that they will magically give her the body she wants in a month. The problem is, she doesn't stick with any of these things for even a month. If she did, she would see some results.

To achieve your goals—fitness or otherwise—you need a plan. But, the two main keys to success are:

1. Starting 
2. Staying consistent

In Darren Hardy's book The Compound Effect (which I highly recommend), he uses friends as an example to show how being consistent with seemingly small changes can have a very big effect long term.

The friends start out in the same place—married, live in the same neighborhood, are at the same fitness level.

• The first friend makes small, positive changes, that he consistently does each day, including cutting 125 calories and spending 30 minutes reading or listening to something educational or inspirational.
• The second friend makes small, negative choices, including watching more tv, eating unhealthy meals and drinking an extra alcoholic drink per week. Doesn't seem that bad, does it?

After a year, you can't see any noticeable differences between the friends. But, by the middle of the second year, Hardy describes changes that are quite astonishing:

• The first friend has lost 33.5 pounds by cutting just 125 calories a day. He has also spent almost 1,000 hours on self-improvement. The small positive choices he made led to big positive changes in his life—more self-confidence, a promotion, a better marriage, increased happiness.
• The second friend has gained 33.5 pounds. So, he now weighs 67 pounds more than his friend. He doesn't feel good about himself, which has made him unhappy and has led to a big strain on his marriage.

Consistency will pay off, but patience is required. 

Make a positive change; start small if you want. Don't give up when you don't see fast results. The change will happen. And, when it happens, you'll be better and happier—isn't that worth it? :)