Wealth Strategies - Hardcover

If John's story does not get your attention, the only one that will could be your own. So the question is, Are you physically fit? Are you doing the things that will minimize the risk of a life-ending or life-altering event? Are you being proactive about your health, or will you be forced to react one day like John did to your personal wake-up call? If you suffer any symptoms of poor health, such as fatigue, obesity, or low self-esteem, how much longer will you wait to reverse those challenges in your life? One way to help you move forward is to ask yourself, Is this the way I want to live? If the answer is no, then let's look at some practical ways to discover physical abundance by getting your body's attention.

Here Are the Facts

According to the Centers for Disease Control, more than 50 percent of American adults are overweight. Other such studies report that as many as three in four Americans are too heavy. This problem leads to all sorts of other issues that affect our health.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, six of the top ten leading causes of death are directly or partially related to what we put into our bodies and whether we follow a regular and proper exercise program. The risk for heart disease, cancer, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, and cirrhosis is often reduced by being in shape. In spite of an onslaught of helpful books, tapes, and infomercials that encourage us to get in shape, the research still suggests that more work remains to be done.

The Psychology of Health

At the "heart" of the health game is you. Have you ever made the connection that your lifestyle habits might have some relevance to how you think and feel about yourself? You and I have a choice each day about how we fuel the most important piece of equipment we own-our bodies. When we exercise our right to choose a healthy, new path, we give ourselves permission to change. This change is always difficult because it requires undoing habits that have kept us in knots for years-even decades. The good news, however, is that it is possible to change. For change to happen, you must go from a "should" approach to a "must" approach. The only way you will ever have the urgency to develop a healthy lifestyle is by reinventing yourself and then locking onto a new vision that is powered by fulfillment, pleasure, and confidence. Hang on to your negative self-talk, self-esteem battering, and mediocrity, and you will stay exactly where you are.

The Fitness Checkup

Here are some questions that should help you get your body's attention:

1. Would you like to feel better about yourself?
2. What are the top three things you want to change about yourself?
3. Would you feel better about yourself one month from now if you made these changes?
4. Would you like to be able to exert yourself without fatiguing easily?
5. Do you feel you should be spending more time working out?
6. Would you like to have more energy after you eat?
7. Would you like to fall asleep easier and stay asleep longer?
8. Would you like to have less stress in your life?
9. Would you like to live as long as you can rather than die prematurely?
10. Did you answer any of these questions no?

Chances are you only answered no to the last question. Out of design, I want you to start thinking in terms of yes. Yes is a positive word, and it is the first indication that you desire to make the move to achieve optimum health. The more you pursue your goal, the more you begin to realize that health leads to wealth, which I broadly define as "enjoying the abundance of feeling great." Yes, you can achieve optimum health, if you truly think you can. Here is an anonymous poem entitled "The Winner's Creed" that embraces the attitude I want you to have as you move forward.

If you think you are beaten, you are.
If you think you dare not, you don't.
If you like to win, but you think you can't,
It is almost certain you won't.

If you think you'll lose, you're lost.
For out of the world we find,
Success begins with a person's will-
It's all in the state of mind.

If you think you're outclassed, you are.
You've got to think high to rise.
You've got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win the prize.

Life's battles don't always go
To the stronger woman or man,
But sooner or later the one who wins
Is the one WHO THINKS HE CAN.