I wanted to kick off this article by reflecting back to 1985. I was a young boy watching Berry Gordy's The Last Dragon movie with a few of my friends. Like most boys I was amazed by the speed and grace of martial arts.

For those of you not familiar with the movie; the main character Leroy Green (a.k.a. Bruce Leroy) searches for the "master" to reach his final level of martial arts mastery known as the glow. During the course of his journey he must fight an evil martial arts expert known as Sho'nuff (a.k.a. The Shogun of Harlem) and finds himself having to rescue a beautiful singer from an obsessed music promoter. I know most of you are probably saying, What kind of movie is this? remember it was the 80s.

The most significant part of the movie, in my opinion, occurs during the final battle between Bruce Leroy and Shonuff. The setting is an abandoned warehouse (why wouldn'tt it be I thought all movies had to have an abandoned warehouse scene) where Leroy and Shonuff have been battling back and forth. Shonuff has Leroy held over a large tank of water and continually submerges Leroys head into the water while asking the question, Who is the master? As Leroy is being held under water he starts to think back to the many lessons that he has learned during the course of his journey and realizes that the answers he has been searching for have always been within him. When Shonuff pulls him from the water one final time to ask, Who is the master, Leroy confidently answers.I am. Leroy develops the glow by believing in himself and defeats Shonuff before rescuing the girl.

The point that Im trying to establish is that everyone that I speak with today seems to be in search of the master. Advertisers hammer home their messages. Store layouts, movies, television, radio, and magazines and of course the internet all sending us messages of where to find the master.

Weve become a society in search of instant gratification. If you call this 800 number, if you send back this card, if you log onto this site..Im sure youve heard them all. The health and fitness industry has capitalized on this concept. You know the ones..take this pill for 30 days and lose 30lbs., buy this ab crunch gadget use it for 2 minutes a day and be shredded, hook these pads up to your stomach and stimulate your abs for only minutes a day! All of these things to help us get the glow.

I hope you understand that we are no different than Bruce Leroy. We are searching for answers that are within ourselves. When it comes to your health and wellness, you are the master. You have to be willing to put in some hard work, sweat a little and do your best to have a clean diet. There are no magic pills or gadgets to help, and please dont hook any type of electronic pads up to your stomach!

Start 2006 off right and remember, You are the master.