Tony Horton - The Big Picture: 11 Laws That Will Change Your Life

This book is dedicated to the love of my life: my sweet, smart, and beautiful Shawna. I feel blessed every day that Im the guy who gets to call her my best friend and love.

CONTENTS

W ill this book change your life?

The information within these pages changed mine. My hope is that youll gain some benefit from this hard-won knowledge, too. Give me a few hours of your time and Ill tell you everything I know to help you become stronger, healthier, happier, and better in every way. And were not just going to look at how to change your body; were going to look at how to shift your attitude, excel at the things you love (and even the things you dont), and improve your relationships with friends, family, and the world at large. Were going to look at how you can make your life better by connecting all of these dots and looking at the Big Picture.

Some people are reluctant to take a step back and really look at their lives. I get it. Ive been there (stay tuned for more on that). After all, its not easy to admit weakness or failure, and its even less easy to change. But if youre not willing to turn a critical eye on yourself, if youre not someone who sees the value in change, well, you might as well put this book down now. I couldnt help you change a twenty if your fingers were made out of five-dollar bills.

How do you know if youre one of these stuck people? Let me ask you: Why did you buy this book? Were you hoping that Id give you my secret recipe for six-pack abs? Want to know how to drop fifteen pounds in two weeks before your high school reunion? Are you looking for bulging biceps? A hot bikini body?

If the answer is yes to any of these questions, Im not your man. Theres nothing wrong with wanting to look your best, but what truly motivates and sustains you should go much, much deeper than muscle definition. Focusing on how you hope to look in the future based on what youre doing now, thats just ego. And let me tell you, your ego is nothing but a mean and cruel deceptive little freak living inside your head that will never bring joy and happiness to your life. What that ego will bring is frustration, depression, manipulation, and fear.

It works a lot like that old gem money cant buy happiness. You buy things that might make you happy for a day or two, but ultimately, you just end up buying more things to maintain that high. Similarly, when you make changes in your life for aesthetic reasons, youre never going to be content.

If you want to change yourself so that you can be healthier, happier, more productive, and more successfulif you want to be the best possible youthen by all means, pull up a chair, put on your thinking cap, and keep reading. You and me, were going to do something special.

WHATS THIS BIG PICTURE THING?

The Big Picture is all about recognizing your role on this spinning blue marble we call home. You can do this in two simple steps. First, find your true self.

I believe that starts with the body. Throughout this book, Ill address the physical, mental, and emotional components of each of my 11 Laws. All three components are on equal footing, but if you want the second two to work, my advice is to start with the first one. You can go to all the motivational seminars and read all the self-help books you want, but if your mechanics arent right, youre still not going to function properly. You are a machine. (Dont take that personally. Were all machines.) Your brain is connected to the rest of your body not just by your spine, but also by an amazingly complex system of nerves, blood vessels, and hormones. Your muscles, blood, lungs, heart, digestive systemthe whole enchilada (speaking of digestive system)influences the way you think and feel. If your machine isnt highly tuned and well cared for, all of the daily affirmations in the world arent going to make a difference; youll just be dancing the one-step-forward, two-steps-back tango (on repeat).

If you want your life to be what you want it to be, your machine will need to function properly. If you have an overweight, inactive machine and you feed it lousy fuel, I dont care how smart you are, youll never truly find a sense of adventure, curiosity, and productivity that will allow you to discover your authentic self. Solid diet and exercise stimulate a smorgasbord of beneficial chemicals in your brain. Being fit and healthy allows you to do the things youve always wanted to doto hop on that horse or that Harley or whatever else you feel like hopping on today.

Maybe youre dealing with some physical limitations that dont allow you to get to the level of fitness youd like to achieve. Thats okay; your life can still be just as amazing as the next persons. Just do your best with what you have. Anyone should be able to eat right and take time to relaxand most people can do some form of exercise. Your limitations may be challenges, but they shouldnt be excuses.

That goes for the rest of you, too: no excuses! Think about it. There are so many things in life you cant control, but what you put in your mouth and what you do physically, those are completely up to you. The weather, your kids, family, work, traffic, all those things might throw your mental and emotional state into a tizzy. But the two things you can controlyour discipline to exercise and eat rightwill allow you to find solutions as opposed to being stuck in the problem. They can provide true answers for your true self. Once youve established that, its inevitable that youll start to change the world around you.

I can almost hear you saying, Change the world? Has Horton gone hippie on us? Dont worry, folks. Yes, I may eat the occasional bowl of nuts and granola, but the path to the Big Picture has nothing to do with transcendental meditation or the Grateful Dead. Im not asking you to exercise and eat right in hopes of becoming Gandhi Jr., Mother Teresa Jr., or Martin Luther King Jr. Jr. No, you should treat your body well because doing so is crucial to your long-term happiness. And isnt happiness everyones goal?

And for those of you out there mumbling, Im too busy because of kids, work, or (insert excuse here), just table that notion for now, okay? I know at least two dozen people with five kids and full-time jobs who still manage to stay healthy. Theyre crazy busy people, but theyre also fit, satisfied, happy people. What makes them different from you? Its a question of discipline, purpose, priorities, and a planall tools Im going to give you in this book.

And heres another motivational tidbit to get you off the couch. To give the best possible care to others, you need to take care of yourself first. Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh offers a widely quoted analogy on this lesson: If youre in an airplane and the oxygen masks come down, you need to put on your mask before you can help anyone else with theirs. Youre no good to anyone if you cant breathe! If you want to support, provide for, and care for the people around you, you need to be at your best. Otherwise, youll just drag them down with you.

FROM HUGE TO HERO

Take my buddy Richard Neal. He started his journey at 426 poundshe was so heavy that his electronic scale simply listed his weight as ERR. (He had to weigh himself on an industrial scale at a local recycling center.) I had to make a change, he tells me. I couldnt do it anymore. Either I was going to die or kill myself.

Thankfully, he chose a third option. He picked up a copy of my workout program Power 90 and got busy. He changed his lifestyle, including his diet. The pounds melted off. One day, he stepped on his scale and instead of an error message, he saw the most beautiful number in the world: 399. Then 398, 397, 396...

And as the pounds melted away, the burden didnt just lift from his frame, it lifted from his mind. As he puts it, It changed me emotionally and spiritually. With a lot of hard work and a little help from some DVDs, today Richard has dropped more than 240 pounds and 22 pants sizesbut thats just a tiny part of the impact his weight loss has had on his life. In his darkest times, his doctor told him that he wouldnt live past thirty and hed never be able to have children. Today, at twenty-nine, Richard has every intention of being part of his one-year-old son Bradys life for decades to come. His metaphorical oxygen mask is firmly in place. Im so grateful to know that Ill be able to give him a legacy showing him that he can do whatever he wants to do, he says.