It's only fair to share…

Guest Contributor Geoff Hampton

Motivation is something that success; oriented people typically know well and use to further their business success. It is as much a part of their everyday life as eating, sleeping and breathing.  The more successful the person, the stronger their self-motivation.  However, interestingly enough, most motivated people who achieve professional success are all too frequently individuals who fail to recognize the importance and relevance of their own personal health.  These successful people are prime candidates for catastrophic illnesses and even premature death.

This is a sobering concept.  Far too many people feel that this is only an abstract concept and that it doesn’t apply to them.  Looking at how many CEO’s, Company Presidents, Vice-Presidents and other high-powered individuals meet with some type of catastrophic illness or premature death every year can easily reveal the truth.  The odds are that you may know or have known some of these people personally.  If not, it is almost a certainty that you have heard of such instances relating to physical disasters striking successful people.

Quote:  “Sooner or later, the body will present its bill.” – Author unknown

In their professional life these same people won so many business battles yet they lost the real war; the long-term enjoyment of the “fruits of their labor”.   There are volumes of medical studies that correlate lack of exercise and improper nutrition directly to these dire health consequences.  One of the most compelling statistics comes from the International Agency on Cancer Research. They have quantified that up to one-third of cancer of the colon, breast, kidney and digestive tract are attributable to, too much weight gain and too little exercise.  Sadly, most people blithely ignore this reality until it is too late and then they regret their failure to respond earlier.

Quote:  “Those who think they have not time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness.”   Edward Stanley, Earl of Derby (from Conduct of Life, address to Liverpool College, 20 December, 1873)

“Anything the mind can conceive and believe it can achieve.” (Quote:  Napoleon Hill) This is a commonly used saying that is absolutely true.  For any accomplished motivated person, goal setting along with a positive attitude and a clear vision of their success are the bedrock of their achievement.  For this scenario to be maximally effective one must understand that:

1.       Vision without action is a daydream.  Action without a vision is a nightmare. (Japanese Proverb)

2.       Goal setting can only be effective if the goals are realistic and contain sub-goals designed to lead the person through the systematic attainment of the primary goal.  (Example:  Want to lose twenty pounds.  Without a clear strategy involving many sub-goals the primary goal will probably not be attained.  The result is demoralizing and creates a feeling of failure.)

One of the key outcomes for many successful people who employ a positive attitude, and successful goal setting, to attain business success is that they perceive themselves as “too busy” to take proper care of their physical well-being.  This example is an unrecognized, diametrically opposed principle that frequently results in the business success achieved at the expense of one’s health as previously mentioned.  The other truth in the matter is that the success-oriented individual who neglects their personal well being while solely focusing on business success is falling far short of their maximum potential.  Both the body and the mind perform at higher levels when regular exercise and proper nutrition are employed.

Geoff Hampton is a Medical Fitness Management & Leadership Development Specialist & Executive Director of the global grass roots campaign The Weekly Fitness Challenge

Connect with Geoff at  http://www.geoffhampton.org