The Dream of owning a Business
For years, I dreamed of starting my own business. I read books, took classes, thought about it, talked about it, but struggled to make it happen. There were many reasons it took me so long, fear, self doubt, worrying about what other people thought, etc, but there was another major factor. My health played a big role. I had always seen myself as healthy and fit but my diet was off and over time my bad habits caught up to me in a big way. My health needed to improve before I would be ready to start a business.
Something felt off…
I can’t quite explain it other than to say, something just felt off. I had lots of mild symptoms that I only later realized were all connected. What caught my attention first was the brain fog. I remember coming home from work, grabbing food along the way and just plopping myself on the couch. I would sit there, mind numb and just watch sitcoms. It had to be sitcoms. I needed something funny to wake my brain up. I couldn’t watch news or documentaries, my brain couldn’t process those, I needed something that would make me laugh to force my brain to wake up. This happened to me on a regular basis for some time. How could I start a business when I consistently felt this way?
Could it all be connected?
There were other issues, low energy, mild depression, slow metabolism. I couldn’t seem to lose belly fat no matter how much I worked out. This was all at time when I was relatively young, late 20’s early 30’s and very active. I played on multiple soccer teams, played beach volleyball, did triathlons, lifted weights. I had other symptoms as well. In particular, I was very sensitive to sugar.
There were times that I could feel it’s effect on my body, even from a very small amount. I would eat a small piece of candy and feel something shift throughout my body. Sometimes, I would get a sense that if I ate something sweet, it would give me a bad headache. I knew the headache would come, but my cravings for the sweets were so strong that I went ahead and ate them and then dealt with the headache. I could only take this for so long.
Only fooling myself…
Saying things like, ‘I exercise so much so that I can eat whatever I want’, I was only fooling myself. Did I bother to go to the doctor or tell anyone, or have any tests done, No! I slowly became aware that something wasn’t right and began making small changes that eventually allowed me to feel normal again. From time to time, I remember having small pangs of consciousness and thinking, ‘maybe I should have some vegetables’. Struggling to remember the last time I had some, I would then make it a point to have a small serving of veggies and think ‘that will be enough to cover me for a week or so’.
Now we’re cookin’
One thing that really helped me was taking an interest in cooking. Finding the energy to go shopping for groceries wasn’t easy, especially if I had to get groceries after work and then go home and cook, ugh! It was incredibly difficult for me to motivate myself to do that in the beginning. At first, I experimented with lots of recipes. I went through the checklist of foods I liked and things I had grow up eating or always wanted to try. Then I settled in to cooking mostly boring, healthy meals.
Shifting tastes…
I think that on some level, I knew that I needed healthier food and I had an instinct to prepare it for myself. In fact, studies have shown that people who cook tend to be healthier that those who don’t. I began to notice that I was starting to prefer savory over sweet and foods that I used to enjoy now tasted sickly sweet to me. Over time, I spent more time cooking and eating healthy food and less time watching TV. I also noticed that I took a greater interest in learning and began watching more documentaries and educational videos rather than looking for entertainment. As I pulled junk food out of my diet, I naturally started pulling junk out of my mental diet.
Obsessed with nutrition
Eventually as the connection between my food and my energy levels and overall health became more obvious to me, I got obsessed with nutrition. I tried to learn as much as possible. Soon, I was fascinated by the connection between diet and disease and how, our metabolism, microbiome and genetic expression can change based on lifestyle factors. I read articles, watched documentaries and eventually became a certified Health & Wellness Consultant, personal trainer and gym owner. It was struggling through this issue that finally helped me to start a business.
I can’t be the only one struggling
Somehow, I knew that if I had been walking around like a zombie, there must be other people like me and I wanted to help them. It’s hard to start a business under ideal circumstances. When you have chronic fatigue and brain fog, it’s practically impossible. I had this realization that maybe the world isn’t working as well as it could because too many of us are struggling with having energy and vitality. I thought that if I could help other people to make basic improvements in their health, to have more energy and vitality, they would naturally begin to show up in the world as better versions of themselves and be able to contribute more fully to their community. If enough people did that, it would make the world a better place.
Wanting to help others who are struggling
My first business was focused on helping lots of people get healthier and creating a healthy and vital community. We tend to be like the people we spend time with and it’s hard to find the motivation on your own, so I wanted to create a community of people who were supporting each other on their health journey. Once my studio was self sustaining, I began a side business focusing on helping individuals on a deeper level through customized coaching. Now my focus is on helping other people to improve their their health and start a business by sharing things that have helped me along the way.
A community committed to an awesome life!
I have recently become part of the Entre Nation founded by Jeff Lerner. This is a community of people who are committed to creating an awesome life. Jeff shares my belief that the foundation of an awesome life is our physical self. As we work to improve that, it helps to improve our personal and professional lives. I have gotten so much out of this community already, I am excited to share it with you. This is the place if you are want to start a business or just level up your life. You can learn more from the link here.
