You know that scene in Disney's 'Aladdin' when the genie says "PHENOMENAL COSMIC POWER…in an itty bitty living space…"? Yeah, that's about where I am right now.

Today is Day 1 of the P90X® Extreme Home Fitness Program, and although at face value that would seem to just be about my own health and fitness, it actually goes much deeper than that, and there is a valuable personal growth lesson that can be learned from this story.

The P90X program is 12 DVD exercise videos that encompass what is arguably one of the most intense and effective exercise programs ever created. When looking at the promotional materials for P90X, and the before and after success stories, you can't help but become excited about the possibilities, and to marvel at the sheer scale of success that you can attain as a result of going through the program. The weight loss, health, and fitness benefits are staggering in their implications, and the whole thing seems larger than life. Then, when UPS finally delivers your fast track to success, you tear open the box, and this is what you see:

Now, my own obvious lack of photographic skills notwithstanding, after the weeks of research that I did on P90X before I bought it, it was such a contrast to see all of the empowerment, strength, weight loss, and personal growth potential contained in such a little black box! Therein lies the personal growth lesson, however:

It's not the size of your solution that matters, but rather your dedication to doing what it takes that determines your success - or lack thereof.

P90X is intense and extreme, and as I indicated, I did A LOT of research on it before I decided to buy it. There was one thing that came across loud and clear, however, no matter how many blogs posts I read about it, no matter how many interviews I watched or listened to with people who have used it, and no matter how many before and after pictures that I looked at:

You have to DO the work if you want the reward!

No one who successfully got results using P90X did so by:

• Making a half-hearted effort
• Only doing the parts of the program that they enjoyed
• Working out only when they felt like it
• Doing the exercises, but not sticking to the nutrition plan
• Sticking to the nutrition plan, but not doing the exercises

The people who got phenomenal results did so by:

• Having a goal and not losing sight of it
• Doing everything that it took to attain their goal, even if they didn't want to, no matter how hard it was, and no matter how tired they got
• Sticking to the plan for 90 days straight, rather than jumping ship when they didn't get a "quick fix"
• Consistently doing the work, 6 or even 7 days each week

Do you see a pattern here that has been discussed many times in the personal growth and development community?

Having a Goal

Doing what it takes to Succeed

Perseverance, even in the face of Adversity

Consistently working at your Plan

There is no quick fix for success, no magic pill, and no one who is going to come and save you. Whether your goal is weight loss, financial success, fulfilling relationships, or just to achieve inner peace, YOU are the only one who can do what it takes to make that happen.

There is no cavalry coming over the hill, no miracle money-making scheme that will solve all of your problems, and no Mr. or Mrs. Right who wants to be with you until you are worthy of being with.

People say that happiness is an inside job, and that is certainly true. However, SUCCESS is an inside job, too. With no knight in shining armor on his way to bail you out of being "stuck" in a life that you don't want, there is only one person who can truly save the day for you, and that is you.

Please act accordingly.

As for me, I've got 90 DAYS OF PAIN in front of me. Is it because I LIKE pain? Hardly. It's because I am a health and fitness coach, and even though leading by example isn't always easy, it IS how you become successful, and it is also how you earn the opportunity to work with other people and to empower them to have the same success that you have had.

That sounds like a goal.
That sounds like doing what it takes to succeed.
That sounds like perseverance, even in the face of adversity.
That sounds like consistently working a solid plan.

That sounds like the recipe for success. As I said, please act accordingly.

p.s. - If I'm not back in in 90 days, SEND HELP! :)

WHAT'S NEXT?

Discuss this post at Personal Development Partners
Check out my Personal Development Products
Attain your Health AND Financial Goals
Join the Today is that Day Newsletter

Cross-Cultural Contamination is a feature here at Today is that Day that shares content that I have written at other sites across the 'net.

Sometimes I write frequently elsewhere, and sometimes it is just occasionally, but in either case, it is content that I feel is worth sharing. Enjoy!

• Are you a Skinny Fat Person? - If you don't know, then you need to read this!
• How to Lose Weight by Dancing - Just like the name sounds! Get your groove on and drop some pounds.
• A Review of WOWY and the Million Dollar Body Club - An incredibly thorough (if I do say so myself!) review of Beachbody's WOWY® online gym and their feature-rich Million Dollar Body Club.

Renovate Your Life
with Craig

• Who's Your Handler? - A rant (hey, I'm allowed!) about how people consciously and unconsciously let other people run their lives. That has to stop.

Have a blog that you would like me to write for? Shoot me an email and we'll see if my skills match up with your audience!

In all of my years as a personal trainer and a personal development writer, I have never been more convinced about a program's ability to help people take control over their lives more than the P90X Extreme Training System®.

What's surprising, however, is that even though P90X is one of the most effective weight loss and fitness programs out there, the health and weight loss benefits are only part of what people get from using P90X. In addition, they get something that is not as measurable as weight loss and increased health, but just as important - they get empowerment.

Ever since announcing the Million Dollar Body Challenge, and choosing P90X as one of the fitness programs the participants can use, I have been researching P90X extensively. The amount of data available about the program is nothing less than staggering, and here's the best part:

It's all good!

Normally, even a very popular book, video, program, etc., will have a fair amount of people who don't think that much of it. With P90X, however, the only negative comment that I've heard is that it's really hard! That is, of course, why it's really effective.

I have read dozens of blog posts and articles, poured over the company literature, seen multiple videos about the product, and even talked to people in person, and no one has had anything bad to say about it.

So, that is all well and good, and if you haven't already checked out P90X, I definitely recommend that you do. You can see 3 cool videos about it and get signed up for the Million Dollar Body challenge by going right here.

There is more than just health and fitness to be discussed, however - let's talk about empowerment.

The Discipline to Win

The people who successfully complete the 90-day P90X program do it by, quite frankly (and literally), working their butts off for 90 days straight. P90X is not easy, and like any good fitness program, it includes both a structured exercise program and a structured nutrition plan.

The P90X graduates are all people who took control of their lives for 90 days straight and said, "I am going to do this. I will not back down, and I will not give up. I will stay focused on my goal of making it to day 90, and I will not allow myself to be distracted in any way from reaching my goal."

Hmmm…that sounds a bit like the recipe for success in any endeavor, doesn't it? The P90X grads, however, have an edge that most people don't: They know that the system works.

They know that by staying disciplined and on track, that the results will be there. It isn't hearsay to them, it isn't a rumor, it isn't some vague bit of personal development advice - it is a fact.

They know that by staying their course for 90 days, they can accomplish truly amazing things, remarkable things, measurable and noticeable things. They can accomplish things that not only make other people stand up and take notice, but more importantly, things that have empowered them to succeed in any endeavor in their lives.

Their success with P90X, although wonderful in its own right, is just a stepping stone to success in other areas because they now have confidence, and faith, and they understand the power of positive habits. By the sweat of their own brow, they have seen that they can accomplish something that was neither easy, nor short-lived.

They have learned perseverance and discipline; they know the taste of victory and they know it tastes so sweet because they earned it, they worked for it, and they deserve it.

Does all of this mean that you should run right out and buy P90X just so you can be like them? Unless you are in perfect physical condition already, sure that would be a great idea. However, even if you don't, at least take the message of this blog post to heart:

Victory is sweet when you earn it, and you aren't earning it if you are sitting well inside your comfort zone watching the world go by.

Is it all about the chiseled abs, the sculpted shoulders, or the beautiful legs? Nope! However, when you work hard enough to have chiseled abs, sculpted shoulders, or beautiful legs, you suddenly realize that there is nothing that you can't do.

And that, friends and neighbors, is definitely something worth working for, wouldn't you say?

WHAT'S NEXT?

Join the Million Dollar Body Challenge
Check out the P90x Extreme Training System®
Sign up for the free Today is that Day Newsletter
Discuss this post at Personal Development Partners
Get reminded of this wisdom with Offline Merchandise

This is Volume 32 of the Self Improvement and Personal Development Link Love series.

This series will be published weekly and will be comprised of links to quality blog posts that have proven to be extraordinary in their ability to assist, inform, or empower the reader.

As you check out these quality links, be sure to help the authors out by adding their posts to Stumbleupon, Digg, or your favorite social networking site. Enjoy!

1) Ramblings from a Glass Half Full - In his post The Key Ingredient to Sustained Success? Calvin Had it Right, Terry Starbucker keeps us "in the know" with the most basic truth of how to succeed!

2) Jordan Cheng’s Success Journal - The post Why Most Successful People Are Renegades is so dead-on with what I've been telling my readers for a long time - success does NOT come from doing what everyone else does.

3) Martha Beck Blog - No one is a "slave" to their lives, yet many people act like they are. Martha's post Do you really HAVE to do anything? includes a great method of finding what you want, and then CHOOSING to do that.

4) Scott H. Young - Awhile ago I wrote this post about when your environment changes, and Scott's post Self-Improvement Tip: Ride the Wave of Moving Day does a great job of discussing that concept along with some tips on what precisely to do when the time comes for change.

5) How to be an Original - For those of us who use passwords all the time (and who doesn't these days?), Lodewijk's post Tweak your passwords to benefit from them lists some truly original ways to not just remember passwords, but to actually put them to good use!

6) Pick the Brain - If you are on the fence about whether action or desire are the keys to getting what you want, why not try both? In the post The Other Side of Productivity: Coincidences, Synchronicity, and Serendipity, check out a good discussion of the concepts.

7) That's Fit - If you've been getting your motivation for health and fitness from magazines or the television, you probably think that you need to be in at least decent shape to get the ball rolling. That is, of course, total rubbish. Read Exercise is not only for the fit for more info.

Blog Carnivals that have recently included posts from Today is that Day:

Very much obliged to ImprovedLife for giving the Top Post award to the Today is that Day post 5 Not so Q.U.I.E.T. Methods of Personal Growth and Development in the Fifth Edition of the Carnival of Improving Life. Thanks a bunch!

Thanks as always to the authors who create content worth sharing, and to the readers who inspire us to do so!

This is Volume 31 of the Self Improvement and Personal Development Link Love series.

This series will be published weekly and will be comprised of links to quality blog posts that have proven to be extraordinary in their ability to assist, inform, or empower the reader.

As you check out these quality links, be sure to help the authors out by adding their posts to Stumbleupon, Digg, or your favorite social networking site. Enjoy!

1) The Art of Manliness - The post The Virtuous Life: Industry does a great job of pointing out that although we have the means to outsource many areas of our lives, that doesn't necessary mean that we should.

2) Christine Kane - With all of the talk on the 'net about how we need to get over our egos, Christine's post Getting Rid of Your Ego: A Personal Story brings a well-rounded and realistic point of view to that whole topic.

3) Unusual Business Ideas That Work - If you have ever wondered why people will pay $19.95 for something, but they won't pay $20.00, or if you are in charge of pricing your own products or services, I definitely recommend getting an earful of the insight provided in the post Why $19.95 Sells And $20.00 Don't.

4) Debra Moorhead - Although making that extra effort has been a well-known ingredient to success for a long time, Debra's post The Secret to Becoming a High Achiever has some really good info about the actual patterns that surround the go-getter, and why those patterns equate to achievement.

5) The Next 45 Years - Eating healthy meals leads to healthier bodies, yet despite the fact that people realize that, sometimes you just have to eat when you are on the road. If fast food must be a part of your life, check out Alex's post Simple Fast Food Hacks for Eating Healthier and find out how to eat as healthy as possible at some restaurants that normally offer less than wholesome choices.

Blog Carnivals that have recently included posts from Today is that Day:

Carnival of Creative Growth #25 at Energies of Creation

Fourth Edition of the Carnival of Improving Life at ImprovedLife.ca

Carnival of Life, Happiness and Meaning #41 at Life Insurance Lowdown

Personal Development Carnival: Issue 36 at The Next 45 Years

Thanks as always to the authors who create content worth sharing, and to the readers who inspire us to do so!