When you meet Charles, you know he has found what he was meant to do. His passion, enthusiasm, indefatigability and faith are clear as day. But he wasn’t always this way. You’d never know meeting him now, but for the first 17 years of his life, Charles’ obesity held him back from living the life he was meant to live. Being overweight is a significant barrier to fulfilling your greatest purpose and destiny. It was by losing his excess weight that Charles was able to find his. Charles’ life mission is to serve others, inspiring and providing his strategies to as many people as he can, helping them realize their true potential by getting their health and habits in check. Now God has put this book in your hands so Charles can help you as he has helped so many others, including my son, a number of my friends and me, by reminding us of our potential. Your unique purpose is waiting for just you.
As a young man growing up in Clinton, Montana in the 50s and 60s, I could easily have followed the path of least resistance. Although I wasn’t overweight, I faced tremendous adversity similar to the discrimination Charles experienced because of his obesity. Thankfully, God had blessed me with a mother and father who taught their eight children the value of faith and hard work when we were young. They stressed that nothing comes without the two. We learned from them that the world was ours for the taking despite the racism we faced.
During this time of civil rights upheaval, I was the only African-American boy to graduate from my high school. I realized that things had to change. A group of friends and I decided to make our own personal statement and desegregate the local swimming pool. One day we went to the pool and just jumped right in. I don’t know what we expected, but we found no resistance. That brave first step brought about everlasting change. You can also realize everlasting change when you follow Charles’ Think and Grow Thin program. Go ahead and take the plunge. Dive right in.
Real change happens only when you put yourself out there without reservation, resist the norms and risk it all. You must have faith that God will carry you through. This message is clear in Charles’ book. I see a lot of myself in Charles. Tremendous faith in God, hard work, persistence, passion, empathy and a willingness to serve – an extraordinarily rare set of qualities that can make this world a better place.
In his book Think and Grow Thin, Charles can help free you from the shackles of adversity your weight has you chained to. I urge you to embrace the profoundly simple strategies and wisdom found inside these pages. Go at it with all of your heart and your life will be changed for the better, and forever. After you’ve read his book, you will understand that you do have a mission to fulfill. It is a mission that requires you to feel your best – physically, spiritually and emotionally. Don’t allow your weight to stop you from reaching your full potential.
Let Charles be your guide – he may very well be the answer you’ve been praying for. God bless you on the journey you’re about to embark on; Charles has certainly been a blessing to me and to so many others. I wish you success and much happiness.
David Steward
Chairman and founder, Worldwide Technology, Inc.
100 Most Influential Black Americans - Ebony magazine
America’s 14th-Best Entrepreneur - Success magazine
Ernst & Young Technology Entrepreneur of the Year
National Society of Black Engineers
Entrepreneur of the Year
Small Business Association Hall of Fame Inductee
St. Louis Sentinel Business Person of the Year
Author of Doing Business by the Good Book
“Charles’ life mission is to serve others, inspiring and providing his strategies to as many people as he can, helping them realize their true potential by getting their health and habits in check.”