Why I Make Life Extension a Core Part of My Business If you were to get sick today, would your business's cash flow dry up? If your COO fell ill, who would step in and fill that role?
By Mike Koenigs Edited by Dan Bova
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
As entrepreneurs and business leaders, we strategically plan for nearly every facet of our companies. But the one thing that can make or break our entire operation is the one thing that almost no one ever talks about or plans for: our personal health and the health of our team members.
If you were to get sick today, would your business's cash flow dry up? If your COO fell ill, who would step in and fill that role? You spend years building and training your team, and it can all go downhill with one diagnosis. No one wants to think about the possibility of anyone getting sick, but planning for the health and longevity of yourself and your employees is something that smart business owners need to do.
Related: 5 Health Challenges Faced By Millennials
I know this from personal experience. At age 45, my life was sailing along smoothly. I had more than $1 million in contracted commitments that afforded me a nice lifestyle for my family, with two mortgages, private school and upcoming college expenses for my son.
Then came the cancer. I was so busy working I ignored alarming signs that something was wrong until it was too late. By the time I saw my doctor, I was diagnosed with stage 3A colon cancer at a critical juncture of my career. Those contracts had to be fulfilled whether I was dead or alive, and meanwhile, I was enduring surgery, chemotherapy, radiation and all the terrible after effects, including financial stress.
Somehow I survived that nightmare scenario, and today my business is thriving. But I vowed that I would never go back to that place and that I don't want anyone I know or love to ever have to go there either.
Making health a priority
My cancer experience taught me to do things differently, to prioritize my health above all else by learning stress-management techniques, mindset hacks, nutrition protocols and exercise regimens that help me feel my best. One thing I now know for sure is that you can't run a business well if you're running your body into the ground, and you certainly can't meet your long-term goals if you're battling disease or illness.
As I began to feel my best, my productivity increased and my approach to life changed. But always present in my mind was the fact that before I was diagnosed with cancer, what I didn't know about my health almost cost me my company, my lifestyle and my life. How would my life be different if I had known about my cancer earlier — before it was stage 3A?
So, when I heard about the healthcare advancement known as the full body scan, I knew I had found a new trajectory to living life to the fullest. Body scan is a way to manage your health like you manage your business — by getting out ahead of problems before they get out of control.
"With a quick four-minute scan, a radiologist can quickly pinpoint areas of concern, illness or disease, and if there's an area of concern, you get on a fast track to the care you need," says Steve Marler, a pioneer of body scan technology and owner of Advanced Body Scan. "It's a concept that flips traditional American 'sick care' on its head — looking for underlying problems before they are symptomatic and taking steps to fix them before you are actually sick."
In my desire to prevent future illness, I immediately signed up for a body scan. I was surprised to learn how much my brain had been impacted by chemotherapy and began the necessary treatment.
Related: Support Personal Health and Wellness With Your Online Calendar
I was so impressed that I wanted my wife in the scanner next. And then I invested in my team's preventative health by paying for everyone I work with over the age of 40 (and anyone with a possible pre-existing condition or hereditary marker) to get a body scan.
What happened with one of my key employees further cemented my commitment to investing my company's resources on health strategies. The scan revealed that this young and seemingly healthy person had an undiagnosed "widowmaker" heart condition, which luckily can be managed when caught early.
And since life-extension strategies are some of the most requested tools from my clients, I also incorporated ABS body scan technology mastermind retreats for them — and I know we positively impacted the lives of many of my clients in a serious way.
The smartest investment
Now, body scans and other health strategies are perks for my employees. Surviving cancer and making a commitment to my personal health has shown me that allocating resources for personal and team health and longevity is a progressive and necessary step in the health of your company, as important as focusing on the bottom line. If you are the driving force of a company or if you are highly dependent on one or more people in your business, you cannot afford to do otherwise.
Related: A Fit Future: The Latest in Health and Wellness Franchises
To me, helping my team members and co-workers focus on their own personal health is an expense that pays off daily. Everyone comes to the table knowing that I value them as individuals and that I value their health and wellness as much as their output of energy. And that gives us a much better chance of achieving our collective goals.
I now know that the path to living life to the fullest and in your zone of true genius is not to burn yourself out in a blaze of stress and worry. The way to optimize your life is to focus on health and longevity and increase the quality of your life and the lives of those around you.
"You can be the CEO of your own health and you can do it on your own terms," Marler once said to me, and I now know that it is true.
