Dear reader,

Today is December 31 and I am writing to you about a real life application of the concepts held within this book. This is the real “proof in the pudding” exercise that you can do to feel the life changing effect of building goal-reaching habits. Not only will this simple application clarify the principles I’ll share, but it will also improve your health, self-image, and motivational drive.

I call it the Two-Minute Challenge. This is going to be both the easiest challenge of your life and, perhaps, the hardest challenge of your life. It is going to test your resolve to change things, but best of all, the Two-Minute Challenge will show real results.

The primary goal of the challenge is to build a daily habit, a routine, an impulse that you cannot forget nor are willing to leave out of your schedule. It should be the first thing you do every day before checking your e-mail, reading the newspaper, or drinking that first cup of coffee. The great thing about this challenge is that it will only take two minutes of your time at most, so you can make no excuse for skipping it.

Pick a simple exercise that requires no setup time. I recommend push-ups or sit-ups. Some of you may prefer jumproping, hula hooping, jumping jacks or some other aerobic exercise. Whatever it is, keep it simple and choose something that will affect your physical body in a way that is most pleasing to you. I’m going to give you my personal example: push-ups.

In May of 2009, I started my first Two-Minute Challenge. The target was to do as many push-ups as I could within two minutes or less without a single break. That meant I could not lie down on the floor between push-ups, or try to prop myself up for a quick ten second break. Being rather young and in decent physical shape, I was confident that twenty push-ups on my first day would be a breeze. Boy was I wrong!

Day one saw me do sixteen and a half push-ups and leave me terribly out of breath within just one minute from starting. Not only was that a slow set of push-ups, but they were pitiful to look at no doubt. Regardless of the final result that day, I had accomplished my target of doing “as many push-ups within two minutes or less without a single break.” I marked an X on my calendar and moved on.

The next day I did the same thing and completed a whopping seventeen pushups. The following day I managed eighteen push-ups, and the day after that I managed nineteen whole push-ups. Unfortunately, the weekend came and so did a bit too much eating and drinking. The morning after a long night out, I didn’t want to get up and do push-ups, but I also had resolved not to give up so soon on my simple personal challenge. With a hangover sapping my strength, I rolled out of bed to make my best effort and managed only sixteen ever so pitiful push-ups. Although at first glance it would seem a “failure” that day, it was actually a real success because I did “as many push-ups within two minutes or less.” So, I marked another X on the calendar and went back to sleep the day away.

Luckily, the next few days saw me regain my position, one push-up at a time, until I finally reached nineteen again. It was slow progress—and it might have been very disheartening if my goal was to accomplish twenty push-ups per day, or twenty-five, or thirty, let alone more. However, my goal was not to reach a certain number of push-ups per daily repetition, and that is what kept me from feeling de-motivated by numbers. Instead, I kept my eye on the real goal: building the habit of doing push-ups at the same time every day.

That habit, although small and hardly noteworthy in those first few weeks, has been one of the most transforming changes that I’ve undertaken in my life. Within just five months, I went from being unable to meet my initial expectation of doing twenty push-ups to doing over seventy push-ups in less than two minutes without any break. Not only am I losing fat and building muscle, but psychologically I am also healthier than ever before. My self-esteem and confidence grew as the days passed by, and others even began to notice a change in my appearance and attitude.

It was then that I realized there was something underlying my challenge that was more important than just this physical change. There was something unique in the formula that I was applying that could change much more than a little muscle. So I applied the same principles, with the extra insight gained from my first challenge, to other dreams of accomplishment.

I challenged myself by adding sit-ups and crunches to my daily workout, which over time, also brought real physical change. Then I added a simple habit of studying Japanese, which increased my vocabulary and prepared me for real conversation in a foreign language. I even set out to write this book and finished it simply by following the Two-Minute Challenge model.

Today, looking back at my Two-Minute Challenge, it seems difficult to recall just how hard it was to do those first sixteen push-ups. “Drop and give me fifty?” Today that is easy, and the best thing is getting this far didn’t require boot camp, training videos, or a personal instructor. I may even drop and do seventy push-ups, and that is nearly twice the amount needed to pass the US Army’s physical fitness test!

The point is that you, too, can make big changes without a massive exertion of energy. If you want to lose weight, build muscle, learn a language, write a book, change your outlook, or just reach your full potential, then you need to start with the Two-Minute Challenge. The Two-Minute Challenge will cost you nothing, and it will be the perfect accompanying “worksheet” to this guidebook that you hold in your hands. Those two minutes will be a paltry sum in exchange for the great sense of control, achievement, and positive change that you will experience.

This is your challenge. Pick a simple, single, and strenuous workout like push-ups or sit-ups and do it every day after first waking up. Do it before eating breakfast, catching up on the latest news, or starting your other daily routines. Do it without fear of failure or concern for reaching a specific number of repetitions or calories burned. Do it when you feel sick, when you feel sluggish, and even do it when you are running late for work. Do it knowing that spending just two minutes of your day on this challenge has no negative effect on your total productivity in the day itself.

Push yourself to do better each day, but realize that you may experience many ups and downs in your daily performance. If you often fall short of the previous day’s repetitions, don’t fret. The overall trend will be positive because each investment, no matter how small, will add up over time. Positive trends, even if almost unnoticeable, will produce positive results that you will see—guaranteed.

As you start your Two-Minute Challenge, use this book as a source of inspiration and as a key to unlocking the secrets contained in this small and effective challenge. You’ll learn the importance of mind over motivation and the reasons for small productive habits. Furthermore, along the way, you’ll gain insights into the personal success secrets of the rich and famous, and some of the most influential people past and present. So, what are you waiting for? Focus on the next two minutes by starting your Two-Minute

Challenge—they may be the most important investment in yourself that you ever make.

Sincerely,

Charles Abbott

http://www.amazon.com/Two-Minute-Challenge-Reach-Goals-Finish/dp/1452888892/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1282132198&sr=8-6