Health Is Wealth

Health and wealth seem to be two totally different words in the dictionary however, they work hand in hand when it comes to building prosperity in life. Many assume that wealth is only determined by the amount of dollars that you have in the bank rather than life as a complete package. We spend most of our time running around trying to do as much as possible for money and we often forget about ourselves in the longer term, potentially resulting to stress, anxiety and unhealthy habits. Knowing how to make money is important, however without a healthy lifestyle you can often fall into unproductive ways which will eventually unravel all the hard work you have accomplished. What is the use of making all your money and not being able to live a healthy, fulfilling life to enjoy the fruits of your labour?

My life has not always been about healthy eating, exercise and a full nights’ sleep. My days and nights used to be fuelled by recreational stimulants, alcohol, bad food and no sleep. I was working in the nightclub industry where I became the environment I was constantly immersed in. Everyone around me were the same, limited amounts of exercise, irregular eating and sleeping patterns, and only living for the week ahead. Any longer than a week and it was just too much to think about. It was a blurry ride in my twenties where I thought I was invincible. I thought I would live that life forever, even investing in a nightclub as my first business venture. However the feeling was some what artificial, as though it was make believe. It all came to a massive reality check for me when I was diagnosed with chemical hepatitis. The fast life eventually got the better of me and I was ordered by my doctor to either slow down or live a potential shorter than normal life. That was a turning point for me as I decided to leave the nightclub industry and pursue a venture in the health and fitness industry.

The health and fitness industry taught me to delay gratification, to be disciplined and to not only look after myself but also help others live a healthy lifestyle. All these great skills that I learned in the industry helped me transfer my knowledge and principles to building wealth through property development and investment. The model is almost identical but instead of using your body as the vehicle to be improved, we use property investment as the vehicle to build long term wealth. Anyone who has embarked on a weight loss transformation or a dramatic change in lifestyle habits, for example quitting smoking and junk food, will tell you that it takes plenty of hard work, grit and determination to see you through to your goal. It is no different when building wealth through property investment. It takes careful planning, motivation, massive action, hustle, patience and incremental habits everyday for the rest of your life. It is more so a lifestyle rather than a destination.

I meet people everyday who say “diet starts on Monday” when they should be eating clean today. Or people who say that they are going to start some new fancy circuit training gym that just opened up because it is the answer to ‘quick fix’ their weight problem. These same types of people generally have the same attitude when it comes to building their long term wealth. “I’m thinking about getting into the market” or “I’m going to invest when the prices start to drop”, I have heard it all. The people who succeed are the ones who say “I’m going to execute on my plan and reach my goal no matter what it takes”. These are the people that go to the gym everyday because it is a habit that they love. They ENJOY the hard work and the process of improving. They strive for greatness in everything that they do and they do not stop when they are tired, they stop when they are finished. Because they are constantly setting new goals for themselves, they obsess with getting better every single day and their results have a compound effect year on year. These people end up truly successful.

Living a healthy lifestyle is not something that can be done overnight. Small incremental improvements should be made every day, every week, every month and every year. When I first started exercising in the mornings I would walk on the treadmill for 10 minutes! Now I complete 12-15km every morning 7 days per week even when I am away from home travelling. My discipline and motivation in looking after myself physically has transferred into my business life which has helped me build a healthy portfolio of assets that produce year on year growth. Without this mindset of choosing to live a healthy lifestyle I would not have been able to achieve what I have today. It is never too late to start eating cleaner, getting to bed earlier and exercising just a little bit more. Start with baby steps and slowly work your way up and one day you will be making improvements by leaps and bounds. Also watch other things grow in your life such as your wealth and you will be thanking yourself you made the change when you did!