The biggest lesson I learnt about success wasn't about money. It was about health.
I was about twenty-five when I first discovered the work of Brian Tracy. At the time, I was changing the direction of my career and, like many ambitious young professionals, I wanted to learn everything I could about achievement, productivity and success. I listened to Brian Tracy's audio programmes on repeat while having walks, driving, in between meetings, making notes continuously on how to become better at goal setting, priorities and personal development.
One lesson struck me with its simplicity and direction and stayed with me more than any other. Brian Tracy says: "Your health is your most valuable asset." In life priorities such as career, education, money or wealth and family, 'health', says Tracy, should be the number one priority, as without health none of the other life priorities are possible.
He says, "Take care of your body. It's the only place you have to live in." Good health gives us energy. Energy helps us concentrate, improves workplace performance and productivity, increases motivation and ultimately drives high achievement, both professionally and personally.
At twenty-five, I thought I understood what he meant. Twenty years later, working in preventive healthcare and meeting hundreds of people with high blood pressure, prediabetes, chronic pain, fatigue, stress disorders, obesity and cardiovascular disease, I realise, as a society, we have not understood this message well.
Health is the foundation of success
Health isn't one of the pillars of success, but rather it is the foundation underneath every other one.
Without health, careers can become shorter, leadership becomes harder and workplace performance gradually declines. Relationships are strained or at the point of breaking. Wealth becomes something you spend trying to get your health back. Yet most of us only start thinking seriously about our health when something has already gone wrong.
At a recent consultation in my clinic, I saw a senior executive who came in to find out the results of his recent blood test and discuss his health. I asked him, "Are we meeting to talk about your gout, your high blood pressure or your prediabetes?" He smiled awkwardly and said, "All three."
None of those conditions had appeared overnight. They are conditions that develop quietly over many years. They are also some of the most common health issues affecting today's workforce, contributing to reduced productivity, sickness absence and a lower quality of life.
This is the thing about most chronic health issues. The diagnosis feels sudden, but the diseases have been building for years.
Most of us wait too long to start paying attention to our health. We spend thirty years building careers and only start building our health after a diagnosis is pronounced. But healthy ageing does not start at retirement. Many people don't retire because they're old. A large number retire earlier because their health limits what they're capable of doing.
Perhaps this is one of the most misunderstood aspects of ageing.
We often talk about retirement as though it is determined by age alone. Many people leave work earlier because persistent fatigue, chronic pain, hormone dysfunctions or metabolic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease or reduced mobility make continuing to work increasingly difficult. Age itself is rarely the problem. Loss of health is.
I think our societal norms have been giving us the wrong message. Many people believe that once work slows down they will finally have time to exercise more, sleep properly and start looking after themselves.
But healthy ageing doesn't begin at 65. It begins at 35 or 40. These are the years we spend sitting in meetings, travelling for work, raising children and prioritising our careers. Work occupies nearly forty years of our adult lives, making the workplace one of the most important environments for building lifelong health. If we wait until retirement to think about our health, we've missed the very decades during which our future health is being built.
This is why workplace wellbeing and corporate health programmes have become far more than employee perks. They are an investment in healthier, happier and more productive teams while helping people protect their long-term health before problems develop.
Chronic conditions that are at first just little signs, such as morning fatigue, poor sleep, IBS or raised blood pressure, are often dismissed as minor inconveniences that people simply push through every day. One of the biggest misconceptions I see in clinic is that people believe illness arrives suddenly. High blood pressure doesn't appear overnight. Neither does visceral fat, prediabetes, fatty liver disease, high cholesterol, arthritis or many of the metabolic conditions that later limit people's independence. They develop quietly over many years.
The greatest investment we can make in later life isn't our pension
By the time a diagnosis appears, the body has often been adapting to unhealthy habits for years, sometimes decades. The nuisance health issues we ignore in our thirties and forties become the conditions we are forced to manage in our sixties.
This is why preventive healthcare and workplace wellbeing matter so much. It's about protecting the systems that allow us to remain capable throughout our careers and into later life.
Our muscles become the strength that helps us climb stairs, carry shopping and avoid falls and fractures. Good sleep is one of our most important recovery systems, keeping our brains sharp, protecting against cognitive decline and maintaining a healthy immune system.
Regulating blood sugar levels not only helps sustain energy throughout the day, but also prevents visceral fat, excess weight and heart disease. Reducing chronic inflammation protects joints, blood vessels and many of our organs over the long term. Inflammation quietly determines how well we age and whether we remain healthy or develop chronic disease.
Most importantly, longevity, a very sought-after concept nowadays, is largely determined by our cognitive capacity. Every challenge we expose our brain to, learning, solving problems, memory recall, movement and staying socially engaged, helps build what neuroscience calls cognitive reserve, the brain's ability to remain resilient as we grow older.
None of these things happen because we suddenly decide to live healthily at 55 or once we retire.
These are systems built through the accumulation of small habits throughout our working lives.
The biggest myth about healthy habits
One of the biggest myths about healthy people is that they have more willpower or are naturally more disciplined. Healthy people are not more motivated. They have simply created better systems to support their goals.
Whether you work from home, spend your day travelling between meetings or sit at a desk for most of the day, the small habits you repeat consistently will always have a greater impact than occasional bursts of motivation.
One of my favourite principles from Atomic Habits by James Clear is: "You don't rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your systems."
Healthy habits are formed on exactly the same principles as unhealthy habits, through repetition and positive reinforcement. Creating a regular bedtime, getting morning light exposure, preparing breakfast in advance or taking a twenty-minute walk each day are all small steps towards a healthier lifestyle.
Gradually, through repetition and seeing improvements in your energy, sleep, mood and motivation, healthy habits replace unhealthy ones.
You create a new identity. You no longer tell yourself, "I should exercise." Instead you say, "I am someone who exercises regularly because it helps me manage my energy and health."
Success is built on priorities
I think Brian Tracy is a genius. He taught me that success is built on priorities.
Twenty years after listening to his motivational lectures and working in preventive healthcare, I believe he was absolutely right.
Health isn't something you look after once your career is established. It is what allows you to build a successful career, perform at your best, enjoy your family, remain independent and continue enjoying life long after retirement.
You don't become healthy by making one dramatic change. You become healthy through hundreds of small decisions and daily habits that quietly shape how resilient, energetic and healthy you are throughout your life.
The earlier we begin, the longer those decisions continue paying dividends.
Stay healthy, be joyful!
Love,
Katya