All the success in the world doesn’t matter if you don’t have your health.
If you are a high achiever as I am, you probably operate in only one speed—fast! You are undoubtedly a competitive person who likes to set and attain challenging goals. But even though we fast types like to be go-getters, we need to live a healthy lifestyle. One important aspect of such a lifestyle is exercise.
As you know, exercise takes time and discipline. It requires you to slow down and to schedule a regular period each day to work out. But rather than impeding the achievement of your goals, it will actually help you reach them.
Let me ask you a question: Do you want to be successful and achieve great things, or do you want to fail and end up as a has-been?
The choice is yours. If you aspire to success, then you will need good health to get there. Period. I know it can be tough for us fast people to acknowledge our humanness, but why ignore the rules when we can make them work to our advantage? Maximize your potential by being fit.
Having someone else tell you to get fit won’t work for you. Why? Because you have to be in the driver’s seat.
You have the power to do anything you choose to do, but you must first make the choice. Are you brave enough to take on the challenge? I guarantee you’ll get something out of it. Here’s what I can promise:
For those of you who don’t think these are good enough reasons to slow down and “waste” your time exercising, here’s a story that might change your mind.
In November 2002 my husband and I attended a coaching conference in Seattle. We were eager to hear the president of the coaching organization we belonged to speak on new trends and strategies in the industry. He was a successful
businessman who had started his company as a one-man show and built it up to a coaching empire, certifying people like us all across the globe.
As he spoke, he shared about all the sacrifices he had made to grow his business. He had worked well into the wee hours of the morning most days, traveled extensively, and allowed no time for exercise, friends or relationships. Balance was not in his vocabulary. He had done whatever it took and challenged us to do the same.
Yet something was missing, and he knew it. He had gained significant weight due to his intense travel schedule, and he lacked companionship. He decided to make a change to improve the quality of his life.
He began to watch what he ate, started exercising a bit and purchased a dog for a pet. Unfortunately, he had waited too long to make his life-changing decision. In January 2003 he died of a massive heart attack. He was 43.
All the success in the world doesn’t matter if you don’t have your health. We fast folks can sometimes think we are above natural laws, but they apply to every one of us.
If these laws haven’t caught up with you yet, they will. Take control and be the one in charge.
You have the ability to manage 70 percent of the aging process, which means only 30 percent cannot be altered. Decide today where you will go in the future, how you will get there and what your health will be like tomorrow. Take the health challenge today.
Curt Landry 
Michael L. Brown 
Rabbi Eric Tokajer 
