I was recently out on a date with my special sweetie enjoying a Portobello burger and Horiatiki salad at MYTHOS (yum!). We were seated close to a private room that had a group meeting going on. The glass has been frosted over so I could see figures in the room and hear a non-distinct conversation going on.
When the meeting finished, the members began to depart. As they streamed by our table, some things caught my attention. First, the constituents were all ladies. Second, they were all very well dressed. Thirdly, they were impressively fit!
Being the super curious person I am, I flagged a member down and inquired about their group. I was told these were all members of the “ Women's Investment Club (I assumed of Joplin).
I was impressed. This is clearly a group of super proactive folks who take their futures seriously!
That got me thinking about the overlaps between the habits that build wealth and maintain health. The same positive habits used to build wealth can also be leveraged to build health!
Do you know the future value calculation? It is a tool to estimate your future wealth assuming a few things stay constant.
Here is my interpretation:
FV (Future Value) =
Amount of wealth you start with or present value (PV)
Interest Rate (I/Y) is all about risk and reward: more risk = more reward (we hope!!!)
Periodic deposits (PMT) (how much do you put in monthly, yearly, etc., etc.…)
Number of periods (N) or time
So for example:
If you started with $50,000 invested. You added $500 each month. Your interest rate was 6% AND if you let it grow for 10 years you would have a future value of $168,627! Not too shabby.
So, could we use this formula to think about our future health? Let's try!!!!
Future Health =
Amount of health you start with
Rate of return: are you losing health or building up health?
Recurrent deposits: How often are you “investing” in health-building activities?
How long will you invest in building health?
Let's talk about each variable:
Initial health: Well this one is easy. Are you starting with great health and no chronic issues? That's great! You have an amazing foundation! But what if you are starting with some issues? Not ideal, but still manageable. We all start somewhere, so let's play the cards we were dealt.
Rate of return: Now, go with me on this one. Typically I think of interest in terms of risk and reward ratios. The more risk I take the bigger the payout I expect if things go my way. We could say, in health terms, the rate of return is like “appropriate efforts,” or more succinctly, doing the right things. This would include effective nutrition, activity, restorative sleep, and stress management. This also includes avoiding toxins (things that damage our health). Of course, it would involve managing any health issues in need of our attention. All of these things, put together, lead to a compounding of results. You end up with more health than you put in.
Recurrent deposits: This is key in my opinion. Making small investments over and over again leads to big rewards! Like small deposits in your investment account, they build up. Taking a walk once probably doesn’t move the ball, but taking a walk every day absolutely will!
Time: The magic ingredient! How many years are you willing to work on the plan? The longer the better. The longer you invest in your health the longer it will serve you.
Just like having wealth, it's not about simply having health… It's about what you can DO with that health–travel, play with grandkids and great-grandkids, or climb mountains! Regardless of your personal passions, health will allow you to live a satisfying life on your own terms!
Finally, consider how synergistic wealth and health are. Having one without the other is certainly less than ideal. It is far better for us all to actively work a plan to have the amount of wealth and health we need to make it through life on our terms.
If this all makes sense to you, this next part will too:
We need a Health Investment Club! Cool, smart proactive folks, who focus on building and maintaining their health to build their best lives.