Why exercising is a high priority to me than career
I notice that all the Entrepreneur friends and family around me have an attitude that business comes first. It trumps everything else family, friends and even health.I have done it myself. Have sacrificed all these things for my business. The whole focus was on making business successful. I was lucky. Minoo stuck by me. Despite my giving very little time to the kids they still find me their role model. I didn’t loose friends but hardly fulfilled my role as a good friend.
My entrepreneur journey was not all about money. After some point money becomes irrelevant. It becomes mere numbers after some stage. The drive at that time is to build something great. Endorphins ran as I got out of discussions and meetings. That made me brush other things aside. Now I realise it was a mistake. Thats why today I care more about my exercises and hobby than business. Its not easy though.
I have a growing business. Some 150 off families are directly dependent on me. I have some 30 odd customers in all the continents of the world. They are dependent on me so that I supply them the right products that will help their business grow. This all adds lot of work. Any day my to do list will be of 10-15 very important matters to attend and almost 50 emails to look and respond. And lot of meetings. And yet each and every week I spend more than 10-12 hours on my fitness, completely focussed.
I have found that over the last few years if there is a clash of schedule – a client meeting or a travel happening which means I have to skip gym, I prefer to reschedule my client meeting. I do this because I and my business can survive the consequences of rescheduling that meeting. But as soon as I start pushing off my workouts, I will start skipping them. If I start to skip my workouts I am close to stopping workouts together. If my exercise stops my health goes down. With that my productivity, And with that my business. I have learnt from my experience excelling in one area in life rubs into other areas too. Exercises are measurable and easiest area to control. When I do exercise, I lift my other areas also, including business.
People and society around me made me believe that if I was not doing Business First, rest all is useless. I was not a good husband, son or father. But I think they are wrong. If it is my number 2 or 3 priority I have found it does not matter. In fact my returns from my business in the last three years have been better than 17 years before that when Business was my only priority. After I started exercise I find I am excelling in all my roles as a entrepreneur, father, husband and friend. Putting exercise top in my priorities has created a win win situation everywhere. I have never been this healthier. All my medical reports are normal. I know I am doing justice to my family by being healthy.
I see lot of my friends, colleagues in similar trap like I was.The whole idea of this blog post is to make the reader relook into their lifestyle and prioritise from my experience. If you spend few hours a week on your fitness regimen, you may have few hours less at work but you will have more productive hours, fulfilling life and an overall feel good aura around you.
That is a great insight. Something we all are aware inside but choose to look the other way till someone like you, a doer, reaffirms it. I am 45. Same middle age working professional going through mid life crisis. Had joined gym for 2 years, then stopped for last one and a half years. To restart is the most difficult thing as we loose most of the leeway that was gained earlier. You definitely motivate me. Thanks.