Some years ago I was serving a church mission in the 3rd world country of Guatemala among some pretty humbling circumstances.  The weather was extremely hot, our living conditions a little rough and the work we did was downright hard with about 15 hours/daily we would voluntarily labor in behalf of serving the people of that beautiful country.  During the 2 years I was serving this mission, I was priviledged (and lucky) to have as my companion although for a short time, one of my friends with whom I’d grown up with from my small hometown.  While serving along side this friend of mine, I really admired his outstanding work ethic and consistency in the face of much adversity and physical fatigue that we would get from our hours of service.  No matter how draining the work was, he seemed to continue without wavering, and steadfast as if he always had his eyes on a tangible prize just in front of him.  He never gave up no matter how tough things got or how tired we were.  During one of our missionary gatherings to renew our motivation with our intense labors, he related an important background story that he attributed as the source of his unfailing motivation as follows:

“..Many years ago, when I was growing up in our small hometown, I would spend a lot of time working on my Grandfather’s farm putting in a lot of hours during the summer doing chores around the farm that were draining and somewhat tedious but I would always notice that in spite of my grandfather’s age, he would always be working just as hard or even harder then all of us with all of the tasks required to run his farm.  He would work extremely hard but he did it without complaint and usually with a cheerful countenance.  When I would get tired of doing chores and would want to give up, he would come over to me, put his arm around me, and simply tell me the words ‘Remember grandson that a steady drop fills a bucket..’ and then he would move on leaving me to ponder on this phrase that he would repeat to me over and over again.  Anytime, I was ready to quit and return home, my grandpa repeated the same words to me and I would be left slightly baffled at what those words really meant and why he kept saying it to me.  A few years later, when I learned more about my grandfather’s past and what he had gone through did it finally dawn on me the true meaning of those words.  My grandpa had lived through the Great Depression and his family literally had started with nothing.  Then with very little saved up, he had served in WWII and after a lengthy service in the millitary, he returned and helped to work on the family farm toiling many long hours to save enough money to not only provide for his growing family but also invest in small local businesses with humble beginnings. ”

Remember "A Steady Drop Fills A Bucket"...

Flash forward to the present day and his grandpa’s business dealings had grown exponentially and made him a millionaire many times over with businesses, real estate, and investments worth a fortune yet here was his grandpa out on the farm still working steadfastly instead of living a life of luxury with the money he had earned.  He was still the same hard working man who had consistently labored and built his empire one brick, one dollar,,, one drop at a time.  This is when it hit him (my friend).  His grandpa didn’t become great and wealthy overnight or by winning some lucky lottery and having a fortune handed to him by happenstance.  His grandpa had controlled his destiny all along (and still did) by having a consistent mindset that steadily placed a drop of effort in his bucket of life on a regular basis.  He had earned success and happiness because he had become it through constant planning and a dilligent work ethic.  Upon learning how his grandpa had overcome great adversity to become a great man through his dilligent work, the impact of his grandpa’s words become more evident. “A steady drop fills a bucket” would echo in his mind as he worked more dilligently on the family farm and understood what his grandpa wanted him to learn.  At that moment, my friend came to realize what that really meant and realized the full potential that a consistent effort has to chart our ultimate course and literally change our destiny!  He used this principle to continually motivate himself and others to work dilligently and never quit while always keeping your focus on what you really want in the end in order to accomplish the extraordinary.

So how does this all relate to you in your quest for ultimate fitness?  I hope by now the answer to that question is obvious in light of the above story.  Quite simply… if you want to become fitter than you ever have before, and get the results you want, you must put a steady drop of exercise in your fitness bucket every day.  You must put a steady drop of the correct nutrition in your body’s bucket for health following the FT 10 commandments of nutrition, and equally important, you MUST keep your eye on the prize by setting short term and long term goals that will help you to achieve the extraordinary.  Consistent effort over time will help you to incorporate that steady drop into your life so that you will have a much more complete, rewarding, and healthy life for many years to come!  If you haven’t started the Fit Transition program yet, today is a great day for you to have a new beginning!  Just remember, it doesn’t matter what level you are at right now or if you are just getting started,, all that matters is that you’re steadily traveling in the right direction… starting today!     “A Steady Drop Fills A Bucket..”