| Leading Companies Online Magazine
To the Health of the Entrepreneur
By Ray Smilor, Beyster Institute Executive Director
  I’m going to renew my annual resolution for the New Year …to lose weight. I know, I know, you’ve heard this all before. But this time, it’s different. This time, I have the perfect guide: The Entrepreneur Diet: The On-the-Go Plan for Fitness, Weight Loss and Healthy Living written by Tom Weede and published by Entrepreneur Media, 2007.
The book is “designed exclusively for busy people with demanding schedules who don’t think they have time for a weight-loss program.” T hat’s me.
Tom is the ideal person to write this book. He is the former senior editor of Men’s Fitness magazine. After overcoming struggles with his own weight, he became a certified health and fitness instructor with the American College of Sports Medicine and a certified strength and conditioning specialist with the National Strength and Conditioning Association. For this book, he also worked with an impressive advisory board of physicians and fitness and nutrition experts.
As he was researching the book, he interviewed me (as he did many others) to learn more about the lifestyle of entrepreneurs. So I had a chance to tell him about these driven, 24/7, passionate people, about the challenges and rewards of the entrepreneurial process, and about the personal demands that every entrepreneur faces in building a company.
He found that entrepreneurs do indeed need their own health and fitness book. Research on entrepreneurs at Ball State University found that there is a key difference between the typical corporate executive and the entrepreneur. The corporate executive can often afford more time to work out while the entrepreneur is often fully consumed by his or her business. For entrepreneurs who did find time to exercise, the research showed that they enjoyed higher sales and more personal satisfaction. In other words, for the entrepreneur, “exercise is a good investment.”
So I’m going to invest more in exercise in 2007.
The book that he has written leaves me no choice but to get fitter. He addresses myths like “Exercise Isn’t Enjoyable,” “It Takes Too Much Time to Eat Right and Exercise,” and my favorite, “I Won’t Be Able to Enjoy My Favorite Foods.” Drats! I can’t use those excuses anymore.
He talks about key nutrition habits, ways to reduce stress, how to stay motivated and how to exercise smartly. I travel a lot so I especially liked his tips on avoiding jet-lag and staying fit on the go.
Tom has a whole series of recommendations on foods to eat and menu options. And you have to love a diet that also includes selections from McDonalds, Starbucks and Quiznos … I kid you not!
The proverbial bottom line is this: an entrepreneur’s company benefits when he or she adopts a healthy lifestyle… not to mention that you’re likely to be around a lot longer to enjoy your business.
As I get older each year, when New Year’s rolls around I recognize more clearly that I have only one life to live. I would like it to be as enjoyable as possible, and I’d like to make it last as long as possible. That means I have to work on staying healthy and fit.
I do have one suggestion for Tom to add to his book whenever he opts to revise and update it. If he likes, he can include my recipe to enhance the health of the entrepreneur:
- Start with a heaping helping of passion and commitment
- Mix in a good personal value system
- Flavor with a lot of interaction with family and friends
- Spice with good books and inspiring reading
- Sweeten with a portion of community involvement
- Then add a good dose of hard work, a dash of letting bygones be bygones, and leaven with optimism
Best wishes for a happy and healthy new year.
©2007 The Beyster Institute and its authors and their entities. All rights reserved.
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