Bare Bones Business: Life is not a choice between health, wealth

I wished I could get enthusiastic about my new friend’s gift list. I had just met this fellow. I learned that he has done a great job creating sales and profits in his cleaning business, growing to $4 million in sales with double-digit percentage growth in net profits. No small task.

It took him nearly 30 years to achieve this business success. His first 26 years in business were spent in the financial miasma that’s typical of small business. Four years ago, he decided to quit being stubborn and approach his business in a fresh way. He finally implemented the lessons he had learned after years of association membership. He found a mentor and met with him monthly. He got to a known financial position and made decisions based on the financial and marketing data. He got rich.

And he got fat. This fellow is more than 100 pounds overweight. I applaud this guy’s hard work and devotion to his business. There were days, weeks and months on end when he barely left the office. He ate on the run – lots of fast food. Did he have time to go to the gym? Fuggedaboutit.

Oh, and he smokes. I know, I know – the stress; it soothes the stress. I get all that. But this fellow is on borrowed time. Meeting him reminded me of something I heard a young widow say, referring to her recently deceased husband: “He spent 50 years sacrificing his health for our wealth. Then, over the last two years, we spent our wealth trying to recover his health.”

Is that just the way it goes? Must you give up your health when you choose to create a fortune? Could you be successful and not have the scars to show for it? Can you be fit and rich? You bet!

The “Power of 10” fitness plan, by Adam Zickerman, is founded on three “pillars.”

The first pillar is exercise. Zickerman maintains that most of the effort of traditional exercise – aerobics, weightlifting, calisthenics – is wasted. Too many repetitions of ineffective exercises cause fatigue, injury and burnout. Zickerman teaches super-slow-motion weight-lifting techniques designed to get your muscles to “failure” in the shortest time possible. “Failure” means you can’t lift the weight any more. Lifting slowly, 10 seconds up, 10 seconds down – and holding for 10 seconds when you can’t lift anymore – causes the muscles to max out in short order.

This is an intense approach to exercise. The intensity means you can work out a lot less than four to six times a week required by other exercise programs.

The second pillar is – you guessed it – nutrition. You won’t find any surprises in Zickerman’s suggestions. Eat more wholesome food and less junk food.

The third pillar is rest. Zickerman maintains that we can break down our health and even negate our workout efforts by neglecting to rest. We can positively impact our fitness by indulging in an “hour of power” every day. Suggested hour-of-power activities include napping, reading, meditating, yoga and taking a walk. Doesn’t it make sense that those recharging activities are really good for you?

So what do you think? What have you got to lose? Go ahead, adopt a fitness program that involves a few short workouts a week, encourages you to rest for an hour every day and confirms that you already know all you need to know about good nutrition. Why not give it a go? It’s all about working less and achieving more in a healthy lifestyle.

Get fit physically this month, and next month, we’ll turn to fiscal fitness. Stay tuned.

Ellen Rohr is an author and business consultant who offers systems for getting focused and organized, making money and having fun in business. Her latest book is “The Bare Bones Biz Plan.” She can be reached at ellen@barebonesbiz.com.