HIGH PERFORMANCE WELLNESS: Part VII – Summary (So What?)

well·ness, \ˈwel-nəs\: a dynamic objective and subjective progression toward a state of complete physical, intellectual, emotional, spiritual, economic and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.  Incremental improvements can occur from pre-conception up to and including a person’s last breath

 – MH Samuelson

Position Statement

Wellness is located at the intersection of Contentment and Aspiration. To live there, you must first choose to move out of the Village of Someday.

 – MH Samuelson

 NOTE 

What follows is Part VII of a seven-part essay on work/life balance. While the basic information applies to everyone who accepts pay in exchange for effort, the focus of this essay is on the skills needed to emotionally, physically, spiritually, intellectually, socially and financially thrive in a fast-paced, early stage, entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial venture.

As someone who’s been both a successful entrepreneur and a successful intrapreneur, helped raise three terrific kids, talked my wife into sharing her life with me for forty years and lived long enough to be called, “Grandpa Sam,” I consider this article on High Performance Wellness to be of utmost importance.

I am reminded of a billboard I once saw, many years ago, when I was traveling to give a speech in the shadow of Mt. Shasta in northern California. I can’t recall the sponsoring organization—may have been the Adventists—but I remember the words:

 “What Good Is It If You Are a Success at Business But a Failure at Home?”

 At that point in our lives, I was on the road two – three weeks a month trying to build a national company while my wife was at home managing a household, raising three little kids (ages 11, 6 and 4) and working fulltime as teacher. Both of us were burning the candle at both ends… from both ends of the country. The chance glimpse of that billboard was a watershed moment for me.

“What Good is it…”, indeed.

Immediately after that trip I vowed to spend more time with my family and less time on the road. It wasn’t easy. There were bills to be paid, a steep mortgage on a new house, country club dues (for the children, of course), new car and the ubiquitous Jones who lived everywhere in our neighborhood. I wanted it ALL! Of course, as I would learn over time, I already had it all. I had three terrific kids, a woman who loved me and a clean bill of health that would one day—if I continued to take care of myself—allow me to live long enough to hear a precious little one call me, “Grandpa Sam.”

“What Good is it…”, indeed.

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• Without a personal mission statement, you’re traveling this life road without a roadmap. Write one, today.

• Review your business mission statement and if it is not in harmony—supports and advances—your personal mission statement pay particularly close attention to how you are living your life. You should be operating under a cautionary yellow flag. If you can’t see it, open your eyes and drop the arrogance. Beware of assimilation.

• If you buy into the notion that the six dimensions of wellbeing (physical, spiritual, emotional, intellectual, social and economic) are important, conduct an internal assessment of how you are currently nurturing each individual sector to strengthen the whole you.

• If you were to die now, today, this minute, how would you rate your life with respect to achievements and failures?

• IF you were given another ten years, what would you do with those years?

• Take a look at your list of goals, both short term and long term. Are the goals yours, or are you someone’s proxy?

• Test your level of passion and commitment to your stated goals by completing the seven-day validation exercise in Part VI.

Next Article Coming Up:  Be Aware of and Beware of … THE CHRONOLOGICALLY SUPERIOR!