You shape your perceptions, or someone shapes them for you. You do what you want to do, or you respond to someone else's plan for you.

What kind of person will I have to become in order to achieve all that I want?

I think you got to put your intimate relationship first. If you can keep your woman first and still love your children, you are going to create the healthiest environment.

I believe life is constantly testing us for our level of commitment, and life's greatest rewards are reserved for those who demonstrate a never-ending commitment to act until they achieve. This level of resolve can move mountains, but it must be constant and consistent. As simplistic as this may sound, it is still the common denominator separating those who live their dreams from those who live in regret.

You must find a more empowering source of comfort, connection, and control than food. Perhaps a creative outlet, helping others, becoming active in an organization, whatever.

Every problem is a gift - without problems we would not grow.

I'll say - I have four kids! I married a woman when I was 24 years old. She was 13 years my senior. She had been married twice before. I adopted them. I was 24 and had a 17-year-old son instantly, an 11-year-old daughter, a 5-year-old, and a child on the way. So I had to learn how to become a parent very quickly.