Sometimes the easiest of solutions stands right in front of you. The answer you seek is often well hidden in plain sight. If you can find a way to identify and focus on it rather than all of the other things competing for your attention, it will soon shine brilliantly like truth always does.

At least that’s what happened to me. Unexpectedly. Late in life.

My hope is that by writing about it, what I uncovered, at age 68, can help you become healthier, more fit and happier.

First, I need to set the scene. Ready? As a former financial advisor enjoying my retirement in South Florida, I had given up on my body looking great. Of course, in Florida, the opportunities to show my body, like it or not, were far greater than when I lived in Maryland. We didn’t consider that when we moved here. And that reality certainly wasn’t on any brochure advocating moving to South Florida.

I have probably considered how I looked almost every day of my life. Still, I wasn’t looking for the body I now have.

As I describe in The Near Perfect Life, it found me, decades after I had given up on being anything other than mostly overweight and out of shape.

For whatever reason, one sunny afternoon I focused on the beer in my hand. Drinking a beer or a few beers was something I had done I don’t know how many times without much thought or concern for at least 50 years.

It just sort of happened.

I never took the time to question drinking beer or its effects on me. It tasted good, it felt good so I did it. Just like eating oatmeal raisin cookies, chocolate ice cream or whatever else stood in the way of me achieving what I have come to call my Near Perfect Body.

Why “near perfect’? Simple, although it took a lifetime to realize it. No body (and nobody) is perfect. When I gave up my desire to have the perfect body, the possibilities opened up. No longer did I long for the mythical perfect body, or the impossible.

At age 68, I found myself on a path toward something that would make me just as proud, and just as happy. I realized that was my Near Perfect Body. It became my quest. Even now, nearly 18 months later, I am still on the journey for the nearer to perfect body.

As good as I look now to myself and to those who pay me compliments, I know that I will never be perfect, nor do I need to be. That simple idea changed my life and my outlook both on myself and the world around me.

So the first thing I am asking you to do is give up the idea of the perfect body. It does not exist for anyone. We all have imperfections, be it wrinkles, asymmetry, scars, you name it. The famous people have them, too. They just have the tools and the staff to remove them. Air brush, anyone?

Now that we have that out of the way. Let’s move on. Choosing for some reason not to drink the beer that afternoon changed my life. It set me on a journey, but I was not aware I was on it, at first.

My journey would later become a quest, to question not just my consumption of alcohol, but the very framework of what constituted a positive attitude, healthy food and exercise, and even happiness.

Want to know what I discovered? You may not like it. It’s simple. So simple I sometimes wonder why I didn’t figure it out sooner or why others haven’t figured it out. For me, finding my Near Perfect Body is rooted in nature and the martial arts. And my approach is easy to follow if you can make the commitment. At least it seems like it to me. You will have to judge for yourself. All I can ask it that you give it your best.

Let me be frank with you. My approach toward achieving your Near Perfect Body requires time, effort and dedication. While you may think that the dedication required is to a program or a series of steps you must take, it actually goes deeper, much deeper.

The commitment that’s so vital to your success is to something far greater. Something, or perhaps I should say someone, who you probably, like me, may have neglected in your efforts to become healthier. Can you guess who it is?

It’s you. Did you guess it? The commitment to achieving your Near Perfect Body must be to yourself. Let me say that again. That commitment must be to yourself. You need to become your own best friend. No more negativity. No more blaming anyone or anything else.

That inner voice we all have must become your biggest ally. Up until now, I am betting if you are anything like me, it might have been your enemy at times, and sometimes, perhaps, your biggest enemy.

To be successful in achieving your Near Perfect Body, your Inner Voice must relentlessly confront you with honesty and compassion. That person who celebrates your successes, picks you up when you don’t have success and can look you in the eye no matter what and tell you what you need to hear when you need to hear it.

Now you may say, “I am already my own best friend. I’m reading this book to try to improve, right?” If only it were that easy. If only we would stop fooling ourselves to avoid harsh realities. If only we could summon the willpower necessary to achieve our goals. (But more than just summoning up our willpower, we must use it correctly.)

If only those oatmeal raisin cookies didn’t call out to me and end up with me giving in to them and eating them time and time again. If only I didn’t have to get up early to exercise. If only I could be like him or her or them without the struggle. If only people understood how hard it is for me to lose weight. If only it didn’t hurt to exercise.

If only….If only….If only.

If only is a big part of the problem. Buried in the words “if only” is an accusation. The blame is on something or someone else. For instance, they offered you cookies after dinner. You had to eat one. It would be rude not to. That one tasted good so you had a second and a third. That’s not your fault.

Sound familiar? Be honest. What some may think is that something else caused them to be unable to honor their commitment to themselves. Are you giving yourself an easy way out and, perhaps, making weak excuses for yourself? If you are like me, you did it for most of your life.

We let ourselves down by not holding ourselves accountable. To achieve your Near Perfect Body, you are going to have to hold yourself accountable. You are going to have to tell yourself things you probably don’t want to hear. Initially. you are going to have to do things you probably don’t want to do.

But one of the greatest secrets of your journey toward your Near Perfect Body is that in time, you can learn to truly love doing these things.

Yes, you can very likely come to love doing the things that you once thought were too hard or too uncomfortable. At the risk of stating the obvious, if you keep doing what you have always done, you will keep getting what you have always gotten. Ya think? A real friend would demand more. A real friend would say, “What were you thinking? Aren’t you committed to achieving your Near Perfect Body?”

What kind of friend are you being to yourself if you let yourself off the hook? You and I both know the answer. We need only look in the mirror. (Sorry, sometimes honesty is required.)

If you are being your own best friend, you say the hard things to yourself, knowing that those words will ensure that you honor your commitment and love for yourself. You might even risk the relationship to say those things that you don’t want to hear because anything less isn’t being a friend to yourself.

In fact, failing to say those hard things to yourself actually makes you an enemy to yourself and to your journey for your Near Perfect Body.

How your Inner Voice speaks to you tells you if you are being a friend to yourself. Know that you can really train and guide your Inner Voice to always support you.

Becoming your own best friend takes time and some effort, but the rewards are incredible. If that all sounds good to you, then this book could be what you have always been waiting for. If that’s you, then let’s get started.