By Brian Sher
Isn't it fascinating how times change. What was once regarded as great success is today a complete failure.
During the rule of the Roman Empire, food other than for basic sustenance was a luxury item. Banquets became a symbol of great wealth as society's elite frequently gorged themselves. Being fat in this era was a symbol of status and an outward sign of wealth and power.
In the modern era, being overweight has a negative social stigma and is an outward symbol of poor thinking. In the year 2010, being overweight is frowned upon. This condition is a result of nutritional poor, calorie rich processed foods being abundantly available.
Being overweight is now classified medically as a disease, because it (as does smoking) shortens life expectancy and impinges on the quality of the years we are alive. Being rich now has completely different connotations.
Today... "to be rich is to be healthy" and 'success' is measured by the quality (and quantity) of our years on earth. After all, what are we working for?
Why would anyone want to achieve great financial success and their lifelong dreams, only to discover they have some terminal illness such as cancer (now affects one in every three people), or simply drop dead of heart failure.
In simpler terms... what good is a billion dollars, if you are dead? In 2002 I had occasion to meet privately with Kerry Packer, who at the time was Australia's richest man. It was no secret his health was failing due to kidney failure and heart disease and his days were somewhat numbered.
I was there to introduce him to an emerging, yet fast growing global medical speciality—anti-ageing medicine.
During that meeting with Mr Packer it became apparent that he would have given up his entire fortune in exchange for his health and extending his life by another 10 years; unfortunately we were not in a position to trade. This made me think about the price of health: the cost is very little if you have it and worth a fortune when you don't.
Most people I come into contact with take their health for granted and fail to give it a second thought.
Only when crisis occurs, or what Paul Zane Pilzer (bestselling author of The Wellness Revolution) calls a 'Negative Health Event' do people have this mental awakening.
This is a big mistake for big thinkers.
Thinking big cannot exist without clarity of mind, plentiful energy and an internal power that must be sustained over time to realise your dreams. Achieving success is more like a marathon than a sprint and without a healthy body and therefore healthy mind, success will elude you.
So what is the lesson here for anyone on the road to success? Success cannot be achieved without you. If you are incapable of travelling this full journey and negating the neglect of your body and mind it stands to reason that when your ship arrives, you will not be on it.
I wish you the best of health.
Brian Sher is a best-selling business author and author of The Anti- Ageing Diet. workwithbriansher.com
