Why Investing in Yourself is the Best Investment You Can Make

Photo credit by Wang Sheeran

Every day when we make a purchase, we make an investment. It may not be the traditional investment like buying a stock, but you are choosing to invest your time and dollars on that product or experience.

Even buying necessary products, like clothes are investments. For example, you may buy an outfit for work or for a night out. Technically, any piece of clothing would do but your decision to purchase that special outfit may make you feel good or at the very least, not feel out of place compared to everyone else.

We make these investment decisions every day. However, how many times do we make investments in the products we purchase, even if they are expensive, because it's worth it.

Let me give you an example. Once the pandemic came, I started to work from home all the time. I used to be out visiting customers a few days a week and my physical activity was a lot more including simple things like getting up more often, moving around, walking from meeting to meeting, etc. Now, and for the last few years, I have been stuck to my desk. While I try to walk around and move as much as I can, sometimes I am just beholden to my computer, desk, and chair.

As a result, my body just started to get tight. It wasn't necessary stress from the job, just a lack of inactivity (and change of routine) from what I was used to. Plus, I was getting older and things don't move as effortlessly as they did in my teens and 20's. I would try all sorts of things including yoga and stretching but no matter what I did, my body was tight.

I found myself on the couch at night watching TV and moving my legs up in the air to try to stretch out the muscles. No matter what I was doing, nothing was working, and more than that, I just assumed it was something I had to live with. Not because I was old or stressed, just part of who I was. It got to a point where I didn't know any different.

Then I met Louie. As mentioned in my post, The Olive Oil Conversation That Transformed My Kitchen, Louie started talking about how there was a specific olive oil had a significant amount of polyphenols (refer back to the link above to learn more), which help reduce inflammation (most good Italian olive oils have some level of polyphenols, but there are certain ones that provide more than others). By the way, there are other foods like honey and blueberries that also offer high quantities of polyphenols.

During the conversation, my first thought was this would be a great olive oil for Mary Beth to use as she has been complaining about tight muscles for years following her acoustic neuroma surgery and a few subsequent surgeries. Louie shared that a tablespoon a day was a good amount to see the benefits.

Mary Beth tried it. Now here is a fun fact. A really good olive oil will have a peppery aftertaste, especially if you try it straight. Because of this, it just wasn't something she could get down. She finished the bottle putting it on salads and other food items but for the sole purpose of helping with inflammation, she opted to pass due to the strong taste. At this point in time, I didn't try it yet.

About 2 months went by and I was on my ongoing quest to get better performance out of my daily activities. Much of that was focused on building a routine around eating better and exercise, all to get optimal performance out of my day.

My ultimate goal is to be at my 100% best all day long, all week long, all year long, for years.

I remembered during my initial conversation with Louie that this specific olive oil helped him with focus. One of the things that come naturally to me is good focus. For example, when the kids were little and would play "Star Wars" with lightsaber battles or LEGO and I wouldn't even hear them (with my office right there with a 1/2 wall and no door). I don't know how I do it, but I can just tune out the noise and distraction. However, if I could improve my focus even a bit more, that would be another advantage I could have.

So I decided to try the olive oil myself. After about a week of a tablespoon a day, I didn't see any improvement in my focus. But I figured I would give it one more week.

At the end of week 2, I still didn't notice any improvement in my focus. But I did notice something unexpected. I started to feel looser. My body wasn't stiff anymore (same job, same routine). My legs didn't need to be stretched at night, and I wasn't doing stretching exercises during the day either.

I was amazed at the results. I felt 10 years younger. The great thing about this olive oil is it is not some off the wall infomercial type product It is a genuine Italian olive oil that just has some specific nutritional properties to it.

For about 3 years now, I take a tablespoon a day straight and just chase it with water. Recently, I have been putting a little Himalayan salt to help cut down on the peppery taste. Mary Beth, and our son Matthew put it in their smoothies as a means of cutting the bite. They aren't as religious as I have been in doing it every day, but I stand by it personally (note, I am not a doctor or medical professional).

Long story to share that this olive oil costs about $48 a bottle and it lasts about a month. Even being out of work, which I currently am, the investment of the $48/month is an investment in myself.

Regardless if you drink olive oil or do something else, the idea is to take the time (and money) to invest in yourself. If you do, your performance will improve, and thus the other things you are focused on, whether it be a promotion, a new job, getting to the next performance level in a sport, etc, will be easier to achieve.

Investing in yourself should be necessary, not optional.

Cover photo by Micheile Henderson

Simple Daily Walks for Better Health and Mindset

Photo by Youcef Chenzer

While I am not in a sales position anymore, I spent most of my career in sales and most recently in a few customer facing leaderships roles. I never considered myself the best salesperson or the quickest on my feet to answer questions. I also wasn't the person people gravitated to at the bar to hear a great story or a funny joke (although I do try my best with some dad jokes from time to time).

When I was interacting with a customer, what I could control was my responses. I always tried to be open, honest, and focused on giving responses that were deliberate and thoughtful. It was what I could control to perform at my best.

As a result, I always strived to be at the top of my game because sales didn't come easy or natural to me, and I needed every advantage I could leverage. This is why walking was such a critical step to gain that clarity and focus.

Finding Clarity Through Walking

For as long as I can remember in my professional career, I would walk at least a few days a week before work. I do remember in my 30's though, there were some days when I just didn't feel like it and would wake up to a much longer hot shower than normal and bypass the walk. I thought it did the same thing, but I was wrong. When I did walk, it was a brisk 15-minute pace around my neighborhood which consisted of a pretty big hill for half of the 3/4 mile (1.2 kilometer) trip.

Resilience After a Health Scare

Then something happened. I ran into a medical issue in my early 40's where I was in the ICU for 11 days. A few weeks prior, I had an issue where my vein was rubbing against my bone, and it got aggravated and formed blood clots. This is the same issue that many sports professionals get when they do a lot of body movements above their shoulders- most notably was Victor Wembanyama and similarly with Damian Lillard (although he had it in his leg). I got the clots removed and then the bone removed causing the problem and all was good, up until the anti-coagulant (also known as blood thinners) drug I was on caused me to lose 1/3 of my body's blood and collapse my lung. It was an unexpected and very rare complication to a seemingly successful surgery the week prior.

It was also a reminder to me that I don't do well with prescription medication and why I spend so much time to make sure I don't need to be on them.

Coming out of the hospital, I struggled to walk and every step I took was painful as it was so much effort on my body. But each day I walked, I found it was better than the day prior. Over time, about 2 months later, I was just about back to normal.

Building a Lifelong Routine

For me, partly to stay healthy, and partly to keep the discipline, I decided to walk every day. My 11 days in the ICU didn't cause a radical life event like taking up rock climbing or trying out for American Ninja Warrior (as I watched it on the last day of my hospital stay). But it did cement the idea that walking was necessary for my long-term health.

Every workday, including when I travel, I walk for about 15 minutes in the morning, and usually a longer walk (few miles) with Mary Beth on a Sunday morning. My morning walks are the same brisk walks that I have been doing for so many years.

I know many of you do the same (and hopefully I can inspire those who don't walk to do so). But here is where I may differ from many in my daily walking routine. I start by moving my arms in multiple directions, including recently crossing my body as I read that of all sports athletes, tennis players live the longest (9 years based on the study I read vs. other athletes) partly due to the cross-body motion (although I haven't taken up pickleball yet). I then take a portion of my trip and switch between walking is on a smooth street and the other part of my walk is on a very uneven sidewalk from the tree roots (kind of mimicking walking in the woods in uneven ground which gets the mind to think differently).

In addition, there is a portion of the time where I run. This part I actually hate but it loosens up different muscles and my lungs. Lastly, I walk backwards and then skip for a bit as it trains the brain to think differently due to the non-traditional movement (I also incorporated brushing my teeth with my opposite hand, which took some time to get used to, for the same reason).

The other thing I am consistent with is walking at relatively the same time each workday, roughly between 6:00 and 6:30 am, rain or shine. The only time I don't walk is when it is pouring out or there is snow or ice on the road. For those days, we bought a stepper which I use periodically.

I have also recently been reading that it is more important for your blood sugar (again I am not a doctor or medical professional) to walk for about 10 minutes after a meal. The short time walking does wonders to help regulate the blood sugar. I have recently been incorporating that into my daily routine as well with my dogs (two long haired dachshunds) getting the benefits after lunch and dinner.

Lastly, and this might be a deal breaker for many, I go on all of my walks in my neighborhood and with Mary Beth without my phone. It's a bit of a detox and a great opportunity to listen to the sounds of nature. Conversely, I do use my phone when I am traveling more for safety than anything else.

This was a long story to share that I walk 15 minutes each morning and more recently, 10 minutes after each meal.

For those who don't walk or just walk periodically, my advice is just start.

Cover photo credit to Chris Hardy