Readers and friends: Please take a good look around you. Look closely. Analyze the society you live in. What do you see?

Do you see the bar lowering on effort? On excellence? On success?

I do, and I strive every day to change that because we (yes, you and I) are better than that. Yes, we are! We have more potential then we could ever imagine.

We don’t need to walk. We can run. We don’t need to just “make a living” and barely get by. We can be wealthy in many ways (God, family, money and friends).

We don’t need to “almost” be in shape. We can be fit, healthy, better than ever and enjoy our best possible quality of life.

How to do that? By making the effort. Giving to life ... what life has offered to us.

I personally have been blessed with the goodness of life. And one of my prime blessings seems to be the ability to know that we have the potential to do whatever we believe we can do. We can ... and we must!

So, you say, where do we start, John?

Well, the first step is always the most difficult — but also the most rewarding. We will start with a plan. A plan we make today and start putting into action tomorrow.

Yes, tomorrow — as in, Wednesday, April 9, 2008.

We will wake up early, eat some strawberries, then go to the gym. We will take our health into consideration by making it a priority, as God intended it to be.

After our workout, we will return home to eat a healthy breakfast. Starting with an omelet made from egg whites, onions, tomatoes and peppers. Then maybe a bowl of oatmeal for your carbohydrate needs, and to give you energy to start the day.

And then we’ll continue the day with three more quality meals, to insure your health and success.

Throughout the day, we will strive to be our best, to do our best at everything we do.

We’ll give 100 percent to our work, as our work provides for our families.

We’ll give 100 percent to our families and friends, always encouraging them to be their best and do their best.

And we’ll give 100 percent to committing to being our own best, in everything we do.

Does this sound like cheerleading? You bet it is! Let’s be cheerleaders for each other, and let’s bring out the best in each other.

Smile. Open a door for someone. Motivate others to go after their goals, while we’re going after ours. Let’s eliminate negativity, and make positivity the normal everyday attitude. Let’s go after all of our goals with relentless pursuit.

Let’s CREATE A NEW ERA!