The Big Picture: 11 Laws that Will Change Your Life

by Tony Horton

Your limitations may be challenges, but they shouldn’t be excuses.

There are so many things in life you can’t control, but what you put in your mouth and what you do physically, those are completely up to you.

To give the best possible care to others, you need to take care of yourself first.

“Do your best and forget the rest.”

It’s like what Winston Churchill said: “Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.”

Variety, consistency, and intensity? That’s it! These three laws are my “Big Three,” the cornerstones of living a better life.

What keeps them motivated? The answer is that successful, consistent, and motivated folk have tricks to keep them going. We’ve already covered a few of them: Make a Plan you can stick to and hold yourself accountable to. Throw in some variety—keeping yourself interested goes a long way toward motivating you to do what you need to do. The biggest trick, though, is plugging into your Purpose and focusing on the rewards that come with following it.

Joseph Campbell, once wrote, “The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.”

life is not about feeding your ego. Life is about living.

Life is too short to be filled with unnecessary burdens—and

Taking on challenges is great, but if you’re adding stress to your life, you had better make sure there’s an endgame that’s worth it. If the light at the end of your tunnel isn’t filled with sunshine and double rainbows that you can reach within a reasonable, defined time frame—maybe you should get out of the tunnel.

How do you know if this is the case? Ask yourself these three questions: 1. Am I making progress? When you look in the rearview mirror, there should be a lot of landscape back there. If you’re still where you were a year ago, something is very wrong. 2. Am I fulfilled? After a hard day of doing what you’re doing, you should be able to hit the sack knowing you did your best and forgot the rest. 3. Am I still loving it—at least a little bit? Even if it’s a tough job, it shouldn’t tear you apart to the point that the rest of your life stinks.

Be conscious of the power of your words, and the effect they have on your reality.

Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. —PREAMBLE TO THE CONSTITUTION OF THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION

“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”

Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff—and It’s All Small Stuff, by Richard Carlson

Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster, by Jon Krakauer

Alive, by Piers Paul Read

The Magic Lamp: Goal Setting for People Who Hate Setting Goals, by Keith Ellis

The Power of Now: The Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment, by Eckhart Tolle

Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain, by John J. Ratey, M.D.

The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, by Malcolm Gladwell

Touching the Void: The True Story of One Man’s Miraculous Survival, by Joe Simpson

The Way of the Peaceful Warrior: A Book That Changes Lives, by Dan Millman

You: The Owner’s Manual, by Michael F. Roizen, M.D., and Mehmet C. Oz, M.D.

He is the author of two workout books—Bring It! and Crush It!—and