Preparing For My Sunset Years:
Part 2 of 5 - The Transformation
As I shared yesterday in Part 1 of this story, I made a very important realization in the days leading up to my 54th birthday this past October. Simply put, it was this:

For twenty-eight years, I sacrificed my health and put my entrepreneurial ventures first, second and third.
While this was obvious to everyone who knew me, sometimes you are the last one to see where you are stuck. You have heard me share many times that self-awareness is the first step in all personal development growth. Seems so simple doesn’t it? But our Ego does a masterful job of deploying its weapons of Resistence, Doubt and Fear to prevent the very change we desire.
Why is the Ego such an effective manipultor of preventing the change we desire? Simply explained, it reminds us of how much we enjoy the very thing that causes the sacrifice in the first place. For an obese person, this might come from the pleasure they derive from eating delicious desserts. For an alcoholic, it might come from the euphoric high from a good buzz. You get the idea. Bad habits can bring a fair amount of short-term happiness too.
I became addicted to the pursuit of my dreams realized through the businesses I created to pursue them. They provided joy, happiness, and so many other rewards, that the trade-off seemed…..and I now cringe writing this…..worth it!
But on the morning after my 54th birthday party, I looked in the mirror and finally admitted to myself that it was all a lie. I then made the transformational decision to change. I would no longer accept the lie as a viable preferred option. I would put my health first. Ahead of my entrepreneur adventures. Ahead of my vacations. Ahead of everything actually.
This did not mean that I would let my entrepreneurial ventures or my enjoyment of life suffer, it just meant that every day, my health would be my first priority.
For many of you, this may not sound like a very impressive realization. It might fall more in the category of “No Shit Sherlock, Welcome to the Party Mr. Obvious”. However, after spending seven years as a personal development coach, I can assure you that everyone has a stuck point in at least one area of their lives. In fact, it would take me less than five questions to figure out yours.😎
I needed to flip the script, completely. My Ego had won the daily battle for twenty-eight years. I needed something big. Something game changing. I had to make up for a lot of neglect.
My dear friend and health advisor Christopher Kidawski came up with it. He called it “the last resort”. He admitted that it was extreme. He said that I would have to sacrifice my busy schedule for two months. He told me people would say it was not safe and that I should consult an actual doctor. He told me it would be hard, that every day I would likely want to quit. On and on he went, on purpose!
By revealing my Ego’s entire playbook of reasons not to do it, he masterfully tapped into the one thing he knew about me in my entrepreneurual life that would get me to do it - my love of a challenge and my refusal to lose.
Looking in the mirror, hungover from too much food and tequila on my 54th birthday, I made a commitment to complete a 40-day water only fast followed by a 20-day re-introduction to food diet. 60-days in total. And most importantly, no matter what, I was going to do it. I would refuse to lose…….just like one of my entrepreneurial ventures.
I documented that journey within this group in great detail, so no point in re-sharing it. I will say for the first time though that while I do not have a crystal ball, the number one result is that I likely gifted myself what I require most for what I desire next, to be alive for my Sunset Years. 😎
Cheers!
