3 Tips To Thin Your Waist And Fatten Your Wallet
Your comfort zone might feel like a nice place, but wellness doesn’t grow there.
On Tuesday, I had the opportunity to give a unique presentation that forced me out of my comfort zone. Lucky for me, part of my personal philosophy is “be comfortable being uncomfortable.” You might believe public speaking would be a good enough excuse for my discomfort. But having given 100’s of speeches over the last 20 years, I am quite comfortable up in front of groups. On Tuesday, however, I had 5 reasons to be a little less comfortable than usual:
1.I would be presenting for Prudential Financial, a Fortune 100 company. And if you don’t know what “Fortune 100” means, look it up.
2. I would be presenting to financial advisors, an important and intricate job. And if you don’t know, I am not a financial advisor.
3. I would be presenting to the North Carolina firm, a group that generated over 50 million in 2018. And if you don’t know, I was expected to say something to get them to generate even more in 2019.
4. I would be presenting at the Charlotte Motor Speedway, an iconic venue. And if you don’t know, I am from the Charlotte area, but don’t know much about NASCAR.
5. I would be presenting in front of my dad, a harsh critic. And if you don’t know, he once worked for Prudential, so if I wasn’t any good he would tell me.
You might think this discomfort would hold me back. Instead, I have the added pressure to thank for pushing me forward to discover the big idea I have to share with you today:
Physical and financial wellness are related and can affect each other.
Poor finances can negatively affect your health. Poor health can negatively affect your ability to generate money. When people neglect one of these areas, they often neglect the other. This can create a vicious cycle of stress and anxiety. Even with these symptoms, both areas are often ignored until there is a serious problem. Speaking of serious problems, many people today are similarly not physically or financially well. Through research I discovered many people don’t seem to be concerned about doing the work to have a sound bank account or a sound mind and body. Below are some interesting statistics from the CDC and other sources about the current state of “wellness.”
70% of people are overweight.
70% of people don’t have a trusted financial advisor.
35% of people don’t get enough sleep.
35% of people have revolving credit card debt.
80% of people don’t get the recommended amount of exercise a week.
20% of people have nothing saved for retirement.
What can you take away from those stats? People are simultaneously developing fatter waistlines and thinner wallets, and not taking any action to do anything about it! When you look at those percentages above, you may ask, “how can they be true?” Well, when it comes to both financial and physical wellness, most people know what to do, they just don’t do what they know. Wouldn’t you agree saving money and getting the right amount of sleep or exercise is common sense? Unfortunately, taking action on common sense just doesn’t seem to be so common. Not convinced? Please take this quick 6 question quiz by filling in the blank:
Your Financial and Physical Wellness Pop Quiz
1. When you get money your should ______ some of it. (Extra Credit: how much of your salary should you save.)
2. Fruits and vegetables are _____ for you. (Extra Credit: how many servings should you have a day?)
3. You should not take on too much _____. (Extra Credit: Name some bad forms of the word you listed.)
4. You need _____ hours of sleep. (Extra Credit: Name one reason less sleep is bad for you.)
5. You should invest for the ______ term. (Extra Credit: Name one good investment strategy.)
6. Regular exercise is _______. (Extra Credit: Name one benefit of your answer.)
How do you think you did on the quiz? If you answered the blanks above in order with “save,” “good or healthy,” “debt,” “eight,” “long,” and “important, good or healthy,” then you scored 100%. If you even got each extra credit answer (which were “10%” “5-9,” “credit cards or loans,” “decreased health or productivity,” “stocks, IRAs, real estate,” and “lose fat, build muscle”) that’s great too! Now ask yourself if you are consistently doing all 6 to the best of your ability. If the answer is, “no,” then it doesn’t really matter what you know. Wellness is only a result of the consistent behaviors that you do. So, if you answered correctly but are still unwell, you don’t have a knowledge or common sense problem; you have an ability-to-take-action-on-that-knowledge problem. Enough of the doom and gloom; now for some good news:
Improving your physical or financial “wellness” isn’t as difficult as you think.
Your level of physical and financial wellness has to do with your current relationship with health and money. And changing that relationship starts with coming up with a plan and then changing some unhealthy behaviors. Just as you must walk before you can run, you must also save before you can invest. Here is my simple 3-step formula to start getting your financial and physical wellness back on track.
3 Simple Steps To Improve Your Financial and Physical Wellness
1. Control Spending. Control Eating.
Don’t spend more money than you have. Don’t eat more calories than you need. So if you are going to spend something, spend time calculating your budget and daily caloric needs.
2. Increase Saving. Increase Exercise.
Save at least 10% of the money you make. Get at least 2-3 workouts a week. Each of these will be both an “investment” in and “insurance” on your future.
3. Reduce Bad Debt. Reduce Sleep Debt.
Pay off the credit cards before the interest you pay goes up. Get in your bed 8 hours before you have to get up. Sending in the money and getting the sleep you “owe” are great ways to pay yourself back.
Increasing your financial and physical wellness demands the same requirements.
Increased wellness in both areas will require you to set some goals. Reaching those physical and financial goals will be related to your level of motivation and ability to delay gratification. Delaying gratification will require some changes in your current lifestyle. By adapting your current lifestyle to include long-term thinking and the beneficial behaviors above, your wellness will improve. Finally, in order to stay accountable to yourself, you may require a coach. Whether it is a financial advisor or a physical trainer, they can have the strategies you need to get the job done.
Do you need a coach? Would you like to be a better coach? One way to surely improve your wellness is to join me in New Jersey on March 2nd for my live, full-day mentorship Coaching Greatness. Over 4,000 people have improved their lives at the event. Now it is your turn. Spots are limited so get yours here:
By reading this, I hope you now understand improving your wellness isn’t as difficult as you might have believed. I want you to also remember that big improvements in either are are not something that will happen overnight. Building wellness takes time, but that’s ok. Because time spent on your finances and health is the most important thing you can invest.
Yours in Strength,
Martin
P.S. Want two more great ways to get well in 2019?
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