Popping seven pills a day, having all kinds of allergies and food intolerances, suffering from one or more autoimmune diseases, feeling exhausted, anxious and overwhelmed all the time have become the new normal in our society.
What is normal about this state I’m asking you? Since when have we become so out-of-sync with nature and the very core of who we are?
There’s absolutely nothing normal about taking numerous pills to fight diabetes and high levels of cholesterol or lower your blood pressure. It’s really tough to see an increased number of people especially in Western societies being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, Parkinson, Glaucoma and other inflammatory diseases. Worse, it’s insane to even imagine the fact that in less than 10 years every one in two Americans will be diagnosed with cancer or will already have a history of cancer. [Source: NCBI, PubMed, “Age and Cancer Risk”]
What’s all this got to do with business?
In his novel “Suzanne’s Diary for Nicholas”, New York Times bestselling author James Patterson reveals the following:
“Imagine life is a game in which you are juggling five balls. The balls are called work, family, health, friends, and integrity. And you’re keeping all of them in the air. But one day you finally come to understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. The other four balls…are made of glass. If you drop one of these, it will be irrevocably scuffed, nicked, perhaps even shattered.”
Indeed, if you drop the HEALTH ball, you’ll have a very hard time getting it back. More so, you might spend the rest of your life running from one doctor to the next to hopefully auto reverse whatever it is that you lost.
In business, we tend to focus entirely on one spectrum of the game and disregard all other entities that actually make our life on this planet worth living.
We are bombarded with tips, hacks, strategies and techniques that will make us more successful, boost our productivity and give us fuel to work even harder. What very few business leaders and high-performance coaches fail to bring across is the strong linkage between being healthy and running a successful business, the way you need to prioritize the two in order to maximize your energy, achieve remarkable results while living a fulfilled and blissful life.
This is not a debate about work-life-balance, nor is it a quick fix guide pinpointing seven steps you need to implement in order to achieve XYZ.
If you’re not healthy, how on Earth do you want to build or run a successful business, take care of your loved ones and live a fulfilled life?
Now, I’m not saying that you can’t run a successful business or even build an empire if you have certain disabilities or if due to some unfortunate events you got injured and now you need to make the most out of your life living in a wheelchair for example. That’s not what I’m talking about here.
I’m referring to those business owners who “don’t have the time” to exercise, eat healthy, get quality sleep and invest in themselves.
I’m specifically speaking to the “oh, so busy” entrepreneurs who spend all day long at their office desk or in front of their computer while consuming heaps of junk food, drinking lots of caffeine to supposedly keep them awake so that they can squeeze one more hour to post something on social media because some beloved marketing influencer or guru told them that sleep is overrated and they should be willing to sacrifice precious things in life in order to become successful.
Why Making Health Your Number One Priority Transforms Your Life
Isn’t it funny, that when we get sick we only have one wish, to get healthy. The moment we’re out of the woods and back on our feet again, we quickly forget that one wish and, somehow magically, tons of new wishes and desires fill our daily lives.
It’s nothing wrong about having lots of wishes and desires, and doing whatever it takes to turn them into reality. What’s wrong though is prioritizing everything else in life to the detriment of our health.
Stop taking the precious gift of health for granted. Just because you’re one of the lucky ones that came to Earth perfectly healthy, doesn’t mean that you’re guaranteed to stay healthy all your life without doing anything for it.
Here are some of the most amazing benefits of being and staying healthy:
You get to do whatever you want without pain, worry, anxiety and without spending your precious time, money and other resources at the doctors office shaking and hoping that your scans or blood test results show something good.
You get to invest your energy into building businesses, taking care of your kids and parents, spending time with your beloved wife or husband, surrounding yourself with uplifting individuals, trying out new hobbies, travelling the world, experiencing new adventures and living your dream life.
Unfortunately, most of us tend to learn things the hard way. When we hit rock bottom, we change. You will hardly find an individual who changed due to inspiration. The vast majority of people change due to desperation.
Don’t let losing your health be the so called ‘desperation factor’ that pushes you to finally change your life. It’s so much easier to keep the car on the right path while adjusting as you move forward.
It’s your decision though. Whether you take full responsibility or let the government, some fancy doctor or pills dictate your life, is entirely your call.
Your health is up to you.
You see, I run a lot of workshops and seminars around the globe and I also do consulting sessions with business owners looking to take their entities to the next level. Often times we end up talking about health issues because that’s what keeps some of them trapped in the rat race.
I get the following question a lot:
What’s most important? Sleep, more physical activity or a better diet?
Here’s the thing: each one of these components is a fundamental part of a healthy physiological functioning. An individual might have greater need to address poor sleep or more physical activity or better diet but from a physiological perspective none of them are more important than the other. We need all three to be healthy.
You cannot cut down on fundamentals and expect extraordinary results.
What’s Your Relationship with Health?
We have more doctors, osteopaths, chiropractors, psychiatrists, yoga teachers, gyms, healers and gurus than we ever had and yet, we’re sicker than we ever were.
Health and business are a perfect match, just like health, love and business or health, wealth, love and fulfillment.
I’m a big believer in symbiosis. I’m a fan of inclusion not exclusion, hence my belief that we can have everything we want in life as long as we understand the principles of nature and don’t violate them.
Health is my number one priority. I love to spend time with my family and friends. I love to move and spend time outdoors. I love to eat healthy, get quality sleep, exercise and surround myself with positive, loving and caring people who uplift each other. I love to help business owners get better results by improving the impact of their marketing campaigns and strategies. I love to travel and do things that scare me on a daily basis thus allowing me to expand my comfort zone and grow faster. I love to play “all in” and live a blissful and happy life.
How has your health or a lack thereof impacted your business?
Originally published on my blog at StrengthInBusiness.com.
