Some very solid advice here from my friend and colleague Ari Rastegar.
From If I Knew Then…
My mistake was that I didn’t realize how important my physical health and well-being was to my business.
I woke up one morning, my wife and I had just started dating, and I got the worst pain I could imagine. There was a hospital six or seven blocks from the apartment and so I walked there. They did all these tests and I ended up having kidney stones.
This doctor came in and said, “How are you taking care of yourself?”
My wife, who was my girlfriend at the time, jumped in and said, “He eats steak every night and pizza for breakfast. He is out all night drinking and up at 7 in the morning for work…”
The doctor asked what I do for a living and I went into my pitch, “I am a real estate investor—we invest for the long term.”
And the doctor said, “You might not be around for the long term. Your investors will be, but you might not be.”
That was the lightbulb moment. I never looked back. Everything has been better since.
The Lesson:
Treat your body as your most important asset. I now realize that the most important aspect is me. Health, for me, is vital,and it has allowed me to be so much more sufficient. Everything comes out of your health.
If you have all the money in the world, all the business success in the world and you have a year to live because of cancer—what is your business worth then?
Charles here. My line of work tends to be dominated by highly-driven people… people that often push themselves a lot harder than they should for a lot longer than they should.
It takes a toll. I’ve had a few physical breakdowns myself where I finally hit a brick wall.
So, if you’re reading this, step away from your desk. Take a walk around the block and clear your head. And next week, be sure to get a reasonable amount of sleep. And maybe eat a salad or two while you’re at it, and cut out the booze and junk food.