About a year and a half ago, a man named Titus, who lives in my building, approached me at the spa.
He asked if he could speak with me. I said yes, and we sat down on a bench in the reception area.
He asked me three questions:
1. What do you desire?
2. What are you doing about it?
3. Who do you spend your time with?
I answered honestly.
He congratulated me on my success in life with one exception: my health.
What I didn’t realize at the time was that I was being evaluated. Screened. Had I dodged those questions or answered them poorly or without passion, I never would have heard what came next.
He looked me straight in the eyes and said:
“What are you going to do with all your career success if you’re dead?”
Then he did something unexpected. He offered to guide my nutrition for free. He even ordered me supplementson his dime to get started.
I told him I was leaving for a three-month work stint in Hawaii.
“No problem,” he said. “We’ll do everything via WhatsApp. Check in with me daily to let me know what you ate and what you did for exercise. Ask questions. Stay accountable.”
Then he said something I’ll never forget:
“We can accomplish a lot for your health in three months, Eric.”
I accepted his offer. That moment began a relationship that would change my life, though not immediately.
Less than a month in, work exploded. I was overseeing major renovations at my two Hawaii properties. It was hectic. Chaos became my excuse. I stopped taking the supplements. I stopped working out. I stopped communicating with Titus altogether.
And this part still hurts to admit…
For three months, I lived on a world-class property that had:
• A custom fully loaded gym
• An olympic size pool
• A swimmable waterfall
• Tennis & basketball court
• Golf course
• A half-mile private walkable driveway loop
• Perfect weather in the 80s every day
And I took advantage of none of it.
Not one swim.
Not one walk.
Not one workout.
Not one adventure in the waterfall.
For three straight months.
But, I crushed the renovations. I added millions to the property values. My investors benefited. My future bank account benefited.
My health did not.
I returned to Miami 15 pounds heavier, tipping the scale at 270+ lbs for the third time in my life.
My legs hurt.
My back was stiff.
Heartburn returned.
My belly looked like a hard turtle shell.
My flexibility was for shit.
Headaches were frequent.
I woke up tired, irritated, and inflamed every morning.
When I returned to Miami and ran into Titus again, he hadn't’t heard from me in a while, but he didn’t seem surprised or look disappointed.
Instead, looked me up and down. Then he said, “You should work out with me sometime.”
I thanked him and said I’d reach out.
I didn’t.
Almost nine months went by.
When I finally did reach out, it was different. I had lost 65 pounds.
I knew he wouldn’t approve of how I did it, so I downplayed my newfound discipline fir my health. I didn’t mention the 40-day water fast. Or the 30-day fruit fast. Or the 45-day cold plunge protocol that started with five minutes in day one and had me add a minute every day culminating in a 50-minute session. And since I didn’t mention that, I didn’t bother mentioning that due to travel and some unfortunate circumstances, I missed day 37 which would have required 42 minutes in the cold plunge…..so I started over when I got home, effectively doing the protocal twice, just cause I missed one day.
Eventually, I accepted his offer to train together but as a changed man. Highly Disciplined. Very Committed. Yet, still clueless about strength training.
After our first workout, you know, the one where I could not complete a single push-up, I asked him if he would train me.
He said, “I don’t really do that anymore. But for you, I’ll make an exception.”
Then he laid it out:
“Meet me in the gym at 4pm every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday ready to give me everything you’ve got. I’ll handle the rest.”
My response?
“That I can do. I’m ready this time. Thank you for giving me a second chance.”
Remember what he said the first time?
“We can accomplish a lot for your health in three months.”
Boy was he right.
Six months later, Titus and I are close friends now. We train together five days a week. We grab coffee afterward sometimes. We kept in good touch while I was in Europe. As advertised, he transformed my health in just three months, but he completely transformed my life in six.
Recently, while enjoying a post work out coffee with the sun beating on our faces, he said that he had something important to tell me.
“You weren’t the only resident I approached a year and a half ago Eric,” he said. “There were two other men, just like you. In their 50s. Extremely successful. CEOs. Good guys. Terrible health. Both near 300 pounds. Same hardened stomachs.”
“I asked them the same four questions that I asked you. Same exact approach. Same offer of assistance.”
Then he asked me, dead serious:
“Do you remember my final question?”
“Yes,” I said. “You asked me what I was going to do with all my career success if I was dead.”
He looked me straight in the eyes and said:
“Eric… both of those men died this year. Right here in this building. Heart failure.”
Then he paused.
“I’m grateful you made a different choice.”
