Good Health Is Everything

It is so true - you can have all the money the world and every possession you've ever wanted, but if you don't have good health, then you have absolutely nothing.

As long-term readers already know, a couple of years ago I made a huge change-of-life effort to significantly improve my health and overall fitness. I lost over 70 pounds and after a consistent and tough workout strategy, a strict diet, and just pure determination, I achieved the best health of my entire life.

The benefits from the new regimen far outweighed the pain and work. I literally felt better than I did at any time in my life, even as an active teenager involved in various sports. People also said that I looked much younger. And, without any doubt, my ability to trade improved significantly. When my health was good, my mind equally seemed so much more clear, organized, and focused. The difference was so dramatic in so many ways that you literally had to witness the transformation to understand the extent of which I'm talking about.

After achieving the best fitness of my life, I did a fairly good job of maintaining that level until about six months ago. Like many of you who've also struggled with weight and health issues on your own, I soon discovered that it isn't losing the weight and getting fit that is the most difficult, but keeping it off and sticking to the exercise and diet regimen over a long period of time.

Like anyone who has followed down this same path, I can give a plethora of excuses for my lack of discipline including much longer work hours, more professional and volunteer obligations, as well as the fact that I haven't been able to find a decent gym after we moved last year. But, at the end of the day, having good health is far too important and whatever priorities I currently have, I need to readjust, reprioritize, and refocus my efforts. After all, if I'm to work hard to achieve my long-term financial objectives, I need to have good health to enjoy that success. Otherwise, the work I put in now won't pay off down the road.

Obviously, coming down with the cold/flu bug this week has increased my awareness that I'm simply not doing a good job of taking care of myself. I've been putting on weight, my diet has become extremely poor, and I haven't been working out. That has to change dramatically for the better and I've decided today to take consistent and aggressive action to right the ship and to get back on the right track.

I hope you join me in my efforts and over the next year, for good or for ill, I will be sharing the good, bad, and ugly experiences of getting back into shape again. I hope you find it interesting as well as motivating.