I did a poll on Facebook asking what people would like me to write about in my next Lowcountry Weekly article and got a few glib responses asking me to write about The Cost of Joining the EarthFIT Personal Training Facility. Initially I believed the topic wouldn't add much value to readers - which is my goal in writing these articles. But then I thought maybe I could write an article that relates to the question and put the question back in the consumers' court.

I love being surrounded by and listening to motivating and inspiring people. Recently, I was listening to Tony Alessandra, acclaimed motivational speaker, and I came across a stimulating piece that inspired this article.

Tony reminds us that we live so we can experience the pleasures and the goodness that life has to offer. If we didn't, then what would be the point of living, right? What would be the point of going through any pain and overcoming any obstacle if pleasure wasn't on the other side? It's because the hardships and how we deal with them show what our real character is made of. It is our faith that makes it worthwhile to endure such discomfort, with the belief that we will be rewarded in some form or another.