What a difference a year makes

What does it take to be healthy and to stay healthy?

Answer: Self-discipline!

• One businessman said, “I joined a health club last year. Spent about P12,000. Haven’t lost a pound. Apparently, you have to show up.”

• Another one rationalized, “I don’t exercise at all. If God meant for us to touch our toes, He would have put them farther up our body.”

• One stoic-looking person thought long and hard, and came up with this conclusion: “The advantage of exercising every day is that you die healthier.”

• Another person said, “I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me.”

• And this is my personal favorite: “My grandmother started walking five miles a day when she was 60. She’s 97 now, and we don’t know where the heck she is.”

It takes an enormous amount of self-discipline to stay healthy.

Last year, The Ilocana and I made a tour of 12 European cities for the privilege of speaking to more than 5,000 Filipino professionals there, courtesy of Filinvest Sales International. It was a memorable experience for us both. We experienced the warmth, the hospitality and the hunger of our countrymen to learn.

That was 15 months ago.

This year, we were invited to go back. My first speaking assignment was to train the leaders of the organization in the lovely city of Prague. Then we proceeded to Paris, Brussels and London to do the public events where almost a thousand people attended.

It was a joy to see the familiar faces who journeyed with us last year. After the exchange of pleasantries and the never-ending photo ops, I noticed there was a difference in them. They’ve become more successful – they’ve reached their targets, their incomes have increased and they’re more excited to achieve even more. And they’ve gained weight. I think they needed an outsider like myself, who’s seeing them again only after 15 months, to point out the additional weight they’ve put on over the short period of time that’s passed.

It’s amazing what a difference a year makes.

Seeing thus, I saw a need to change a major part of my lesson. So my talk shifted to the value of keeping one’s self healthy. I taught how integral one’s mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health and development are in the quest for success.

People ask me where I get the energy to do more than 330 talks in a year. Well, it’s no secret. I watch what I eat, I exercise, I take in a lot of vitamins, and by the grace of God, I’m able to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Health is a priority in my life. And when I speak on vital life issues, and success principles in business and in professional life, I now make sure to include the value of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Because once health is neglected and sickness comes, everything we’ve worked hard for become of little value in perspective. A wealthy businessman once said, “I can assure you that there is no glamour in a 14-karat gold bedpan.”

I’ve endorsed a shoe brand, a luggage brand and a technology shop. With permission to make it public, I’m now also endorsing Conzace, a multi-vitamin brand that offers enough amount of Zinc as a vital ingredient of good nutrition. I’ve become even more determined to promote health and wellness because work today has become even more demanding. And health is an investment we can’t afford to do without or to lose in the endeavor to achieve success in life.

The leaders in Europe I spoke to last time were serious in applying this principle, and they’ve committed to lose their excess weight and stay healthy. Before the event ended, they’ve committed to run their own version of The Biggest Loser. They’ve added weight loss as a target for the year. I’ve no doubt that when I visit them again next year, they’d be healthier, more fit, better looking and able to achieve more than they could ever imagine.

Meanwhile, why don’t you and I start exercising more today? Take vitamins and nutritional supplements, and eat right. Let’s make this God-given life even more productive.

(Only a few seats left in my upcoming seminar! Develop your leadership skills with me as I facilitate the well-acclaimed Dr. John C. Maxwell Program “Developing The Leader Within You” on October 15-16 at the EDSA Shangri-La Hotel. For further inquiries, contact Hannah at 09228980196, or call 632-6310658 or 6310660.)