In 1984, shortly after obtaining my Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree, I began working for Chrysler at its then headquarters in Highland Park, Michigan. Then, in 1996, the company moved its headquarters to Auburn Hills, about 30 miles north from the original location. This newly-built facility manifested its then management’s commitment to encourage its employees to stay healthy. Needless to say, in general, healthy people are more productive than those who are not. With the exercise facility being available within the same complex, it was up to me to discipline myself to schedule the time to exercise regularly. And I did.
As mentioned elsewhere in previous posts, when the tech bubble burst in 2000, it shook me to the core about my financial stability in retirement. After much thought, four years later in 2004, after 20 years of service, I decided to leave the comfort of being employed by Chrysler – in order to gradually start managing my own investments by moving away from relying on Wall Street. Little did I know, at the time, that running our own investment business required a completely different set of knowledge and skills than being an employee. Being an MBA, even when combined with a 20-year work experience in corporate America, was far from being sufficient to prepare myself to run a business effectively. Once upon a time, an executive told me his blunt assessment on what an MBA-degree holder meant to him as he looked to hire someone. He said, “I’m not expecting an MBA that we hire to be able to run this company within a few years, as many newly-minted MBAs think that they can. Rather, what the MBA degree does tell me is that the individual has a propensity to complete any project that he/she has started in a timely manner. That’s it. Nothing more, nothing less.”
Post-Chrysler years, being on a steep learning curve with every aspect of what I set out to achieve, my every waking moment has been devoted to accomplishing my investment-business goals – as it still is to this day. This meant I had absolutely no time to spare for anything other than to focus on business. Carving out the time for exercise for myself was out of the question.
Then in 2008, just as everything was moving right along toward reaching my five-year business goal by the end of 2009, our residence was completely destroyed by fire, caused by lightning. In disbelief, my immediate reaction was that I had no time for this added burden. But, of course, David and I had no choice but to deal with it head on. In my autobiography, published in March 2012, I wrote about the agony, heartache, and utter disruption, not to mention the added financial burden it placed on us as no bank was lending money to anyone for any reason. (Do you remember the period when everyone wondered whatever happened to the $700 billion that we, tax-payers, funded to bail out the banks? That’s what I’m talking about.) In any case, if I had no time for exercise before the fire, I certainly had none after it.
Before long, along with everything else that needed to be addressed and resolved, the time came to approve the design of a new house to be built at the same address. Then, out of the blue, a thought crossed my mind. “What if I cannot enjoy the new house due to some unforeseen health problems?” “At Chrysler, management cared about its employees’ health. With my own company, if I don’t make health a priority for myself, no one else will.” As a result, one of the modifications made to the original design was to have built-in power outlets in the office floor – so that I could work out on a treadmill while I work on business using my PC.
Each day, when I wake up in the morning, the first thing I do is weigh myself in. During weekdays, I then have a fruit, followed by an intense 25-minute workout called, “T-25” by Shawn T of Team Beachbody. Then stretch and deep-breathing exercises complete my routine. Then comes my full breakfast. Knowing that I am being good to myself each and every morning BEFORE I start working, I am ready to take on almost any challenges that come up during the day.
Since 2008 when we lived at our temporary residence after the fire, I have been using the treadmill regularly. Today, for the most part, I’m on it at least five hours a day; sometimes for as long as nine hours. You’d be amazed how fast the time flies each day when you work out while you work. Because I’m only going at a leisurely pace of 1.5 miles/hour, at a 4.5 (out of 10.0) incline, for the most part, I don’t even notice that I’m working out.
Of all the houses in our neighborhood that are connected to the same power source, why was ours the one that was struck by lightning? When it comes right down to it, I’m sure there is some sort of scientific explanation. But for me, the truth of the matter is that, without the fire, I would never have stopped to think and put my health above creation of wealth. NEVER. The fire forced me to realize that creation of wealth, not to mention the enjoyment of it, is possible only if I remain healthy. Was the fire a divine intervention? To answer the question, all I can say is this: “That light-bulb moment was truly a life-changing event.” Since then, I never stopped making the time to exercise. This, in itself, is a miracle that only a divine intervention could have achieved.
Happy investing!
