On the first day of my time at Babson college, my classmates and I were lectured to by the cohort ahead of us. They were psyching us up and giving us pointers on the road that lay ahead. One speaker owned a gym and was looking to buy into a franchise. I sat rolling my eyes as he said how important it would be to continue our exercise as we worked through the next two years. I wasn't buying any of it. How could I possibly find time for exercise as I commuted on the train to Boston, worked a full day and then squeezed classwork and family time into the remainder of the day. He was seriously a slacker taking time for exercise.
Now it is more than a year after the program. I have been working on starting my own company http://atomictower.com and I don't have any more time in the day than I did when I was commuting and at school. But I am beginning to understand what he meant. Entrepreneurship is exciting, stimulating and fun. It is the most ambitious endeavor that I have undertaken in my career. I am building something to be proud of that will benefit many. But how can anyone enjoy this if their body is breaking down?
Health is number 1. As the leader in your company it is imperative to stay healthy (you owe it to your partners). We need to project confidence to our clients and our investors. Looking and feeling fit tells people that you have everything under control and that they can trust you to manage your company as you manage your health.
I advocate taking the same approach to your health as we shoe-string innovators do to setting up our companies. Look to what is most important and provide for it as cost-efficiently as possible. No need to run into an expensive gym membership or an unrealistic schedule. My philosophy is that a healthy heart and lungs are the most important. So aerobic exercise is my choice. I like the fun of bike riding, so I bought a used bike for $30. I LOVE it! Not much for looking at, but I can get as good exercise on this as I can on a $1,000 bike.
The last part is to commit to 20 minutes most days. Plan it like you would a meeting. I would never dream of not making a meeting, so get on the bike too. Since it is at home, all of the logistics that go into my excuses for NOT going to the gym are gone.
It is important, I recommend it, good luck.
Brian
http://atomictower.com – web reporting engine
3 comments:
Love this picture, and agree with you. Our health is our most precious thing! Without it we can't enjoy any amount of success or wealth.
Enjoyed reading your blog...guess I should have the tires fixed!!
It is more than often Brian that we agree with each other. But this blog is almost like you crept into my mind and pulled out this sheet of paper and posted it online...:). And no I am not worried about copyright here.
The reason being that one cannot re-state how important it is to "feel" healthy rather than look healthy.Ones body,mind and brain only react to what the current state of one's health is. Exercise plays around with those hormones of you that just keep you elated all the time. You just feel alive.
And all those who have the alibi of time for their sad state of health time for basics. 24 hours a day is a long time. And as you stated 20 minutes or even 1 hour is very small relatively. What can make it work is just being objective. Once you say that "I need to do it", then you need to do it. Simple. The rest just follows.
The past one year has bee one of my healthiest years. And I have not even stepped into a gym. I followed my bliss (Thanks Campbell) and I have never been happier.
Lovely blog and most apt in these times. Thank you again.
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