By Jon Benson

I'd like to help you get into top shape as quickly as possible. In order to do that, you must do two seemingly opposing things: Gain weight (muscle) and lose weight (fat).

Many fitness pros just plain don't believe that you can burn fat while building muscle at the same time. But you can. Every time I read an article by some doctor or expert claiming it's "biologically impossible" to gain muscle on a hypocaloric diet (a diet low in calories), I just laugh.

I do more than make claims. I have proven this to be true many times. I've had my body fat hydrostatically measured during several peaks in my training cycles. In all but one, I showed an increase of muscle mass and a decrease of body fat during a 12- to 16-week period. The one time I didn't show an increase in muscle mass was when I was doing most of my training in the gym. That may not make sense right now, but it will in a moment.

Keep this in mind: I'm a 44-year-old former fat guy who does not take any fat-burning drugs or steroids for muscle mass. While training, I eat only two or three times per day. I do not do hours of cardio. And... of all things... my best workouts are under 20 minutes. More like 15.

I look pretty good for a natural bodybuilder who used to be clinically obese. I won't win the Mr. Olympia title, but that's okay. Most people reading this article could care less about looking like a real mutant. (I think drugged-up 300-pound guys, to quote the great fitness trainer Vince Gironda, look like "bloated sausages.")

Okay, I'll come clean. I admire competitive bodybuilders for their drive and passion for excellence. But I do not admire their common sense. I should know - I tried bodybuilding for a while. However, I never actually competed. Came close, but no cigar.

The funny thing is that most people assume I'm a competitive bodybuilder when I'm in top shape (which is most of the year). I have 17-inch arms, a huge back, good natural leg development, and pretty good shoulders.

This is not a fluff piece to tell you how great I am. I'm not. I have plenty of genetic weaknesses, trust me. I walk by a doughnut shop and gain a pound. But the fact remains that most people lose muscle on a diet. Those who don't know how to diet lose far more muscle than fat! So when a guy in his 40s claims he can build muscle AND lose fat... well, eyebrows raise.

As I said, I'm not a competitive bodybuilder. But I love to look like I'm in CLOSE to the condition of one. For me, that's about 7 percent body fat with ample muscle mass, but not enough to make folks toss their cookies. Lest you worry that you will become "muscle-bound," accidentally transforming yourself into the next Mr. or Ms. Olympia, fear not. Muscle is like a biological dimmer switch. It's either on or off - and you control the amount of muscle you wish to see.

So how does this work? Can anyone do it? Absolutely. But you have to have the right combination of factors.

Most fitness pros will tell you that you have to increase your calories in order to gain muscle. Yes, you have to increase your calories to gain weight. But that's not what most people want to do. They want to gain lean muscle and burn body fat.

For men and women who want to lose fat and build shapely muscle at the same time, a bit of metabolic trickery is involved.

A calorie is nothing more than a specific measurement of energy or heat. And your body requires energy and heat in order to survive. Simply stated, in order to lose stored energy (body fat), we need to decrease the amount of energy we ingest (calories). A slight reduction in calories is essential to burn body fat - there's no way around that. So, if you want to gain muscle, doesn't it make sense that you have to increase your calories in order to pull it off?

Yes, it makes perfect sense. But it's wrong. Flat out, absolutely dead freakin' wrong.

Listen up: As long as you have fat to burn, all the energy you need for building muscle can come from that stored energy. What you want to do is tap into that unwanted body fat and use the energy to repair your body after exercise and build lean tissue.

There are three key steps to take to trick your body into doing it.

Step One: Stimulate your body to increase its muscle mass.

By Brian Tracy

Your success in life will be largely determined by your ability to find your true calling, the right work for you to do, and then putting your whole heart into doing it very well.

The happiest people are those who have carefully thought through who they are, what they want, where they are going, and then decided exactly what they need to do to get to their goal. Asking yourself five targeted questions can help you home in on whatever path is right for you.

#1: What do I do easily and well?

When you are seeking your true calling, you must look at the activities that have always been easy for you but which have been difficult for others. Often, you will get comments and compliments on how well you do a particular task. You will be surprised when you hear those remarks, because you never even thought about it that much. It just seemed natural for you from the very beginning.

My daughter is a natural and spontaneous little actress. From the time she was three or four years old, she has memorized lines and acted in every school play and function that has ever come up. In fact, by the time she was six, she was memorizing every line in the school play, not only her own but the lines of every other child. When the other children forgot their lines, Christina would whisper them and keep the play on track.

When Christina was 11 years old, she appeared at a city council meeting and gave a speech in favor of a permit allowing her school to expand. She stood up at the meeting, on a chair, in front of 150 adults, and gave an impassioned little talk. As a result, the permit was granted - and Christina was on the front page of two newspapers the following day.

#2: What are the things that I have done in life that have been most responsible for my success?

In looking back over your work and your activities, what are the things you have done that have given you the greatest rewards and satisfaction? If you work for a company, what are the activities you have engaged in that have achieved the very best results for yourself and your company? Your previous success experiences are signposts pointing to the sort of things that you should be doing more and more of if you want to deploy yourself more fully for greater happiness and satisfaction in life.

#3: What would I do differently, knowing what I know now?

Is there anything that you are currently doing that you wouldn't start up again if you had to do it over? Is there any relationship that you are in that you wouldn't get into if you could make the choice today? Is there any job or part of any job that you are doing that you would not embark upon, knowing what you now know, if you had to do it over?

As many as 95 percent of people working today are under-employed, not working to their full capacity for themselves and their companies. Only 5 percent, when interviewed, will say that they are working fully extended at their current job. Only 5 percent feel that their entire potential is being consumed and that they are working on the outer edge of their abilities. These people also tend to be the happiest, the highest paid, and the most fulfilled in any organization or enterprise.

#4: What work would I choose to do if I won a million dollars, cash, in the lottery tomorrow?

This is a question I sometimes ask my seminar audiences. When you hear this question, your gut reaction is a good indicator of where you are today and possibly where you should be going in the future. Most people, when they think of winning a million dollars, think of quitting their current job and doing something else. There is nothing wrong with that. Since most people have backed into their current jobs, taking them because they just happened to be there at the time a job was needed, most people probably should be doing something else.

Napoleon Hill once said the key to success in America is to find out what you really enjoy doing, and then find a way to make a good living at it. What do you most love to do?

Successful people don't feel like they work at all. They are doing what they love to do, and they are so busy doing it that their work becomes their play. Their work life and their personal life blends together like a hand fitting neatly into a glove. There is no separation. They are totally committed individuals who are accomplishing far more in a shorter period of time than the average person who is merely going through the motions.

#5: If I were absolutely guaranteed tremendous success in any job I chose, what field would I go into?

One of the major reasons people hold themselves back from doing what they are truly meant to do is that they are afraid they will fail in some way. And being afraid that you will fail is the surest guarantor that you will fail.

But what if you are absolutely guaranteed success in any field you choose? What would it be? What would you want to do if you had unlimited time, unlimited resources, and guaranteed success?

The answer to that question should cause you to tingle a little bit. It should make your stomach flutter. It should send a thrill of excitement and anticipation through you that tells you this is the job you should be doing.

Asking and answering the above five questions can change your life.

You have within you talents and abilities so vast that you could never use them all if you lived to be a thousand. You have natural skills and talents that can enable you to overcome any obstacle and achieve any goal you could ever set for yourself. There are no limits on what you can be, have, or do if you find your true calling.

When you become one of the few people who are doing what they love to do, who are totally absorbed in doing something they really care about, you will make more progress in a couple of years than the average wage slave makes in five or 10 years. You will come to the attention of people who can help you and open doors for you. You will be happy and fulfilled in both your work and your personal relationships. You will have more energy, enthusiasm, and creativity. You will unlock your true potential, and your future will become unlimited.

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, the Internet’s most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.