I have two friends. One we’ll call Jonah (think Jonah Hill) and the other is Jason (think Jason Statham).

Jonah is a forty one year old father of three and has a low level management job within a large retail company. Jason is a father of two, an entrepreneur, and works from home.

Jonah is built like a brick shit house (if the house was made of pudding). His idea of the four food groups is sugar, salt, grease, and butter. Needless to say, he is fat. Very.

His body fat is well over the “obese” level of 30% and most days he struggles to get through the day. His daily exercise is limited to walking around his store a few dozen times and his long hours keep him from seeing his family most days.

Jason is an active forty four year old guy and spends several days each week doing some form of exercise. He is super active with his kids and somehow has more energy than most guys I’ve ever met (and certainly more than me).

Captain Obvious

CaptNow it’s obvious from their respective lifestyles why Jonah is a hot mess and Jason is not. But what you don’t know is how their lifestyles affect their quality of life.

Jonah is a miserable guy who is pretty down on life every time I see him. He hates his job but feels trapped. His marriage is struggling because he is never home and when he is, he’s too tired to do anything with the family.

His blood pressure and cholesterol are off the charts and I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that he has Diabetes one day soon. It’s a tragic story because he’s a great guy but has virtually given up on living a happy or healthy life.

Jason on the other hand exudes confidence and happiness and actually gives me more energy when I see him. He travels a great deal for work, speaks at seminars around the country, and loves his life.

He’s the type of guy who inspires those around him to be better.

The Trickle Down Effect

water1You can imagine that Jonah doesn’t have a lot of healthy habits and you’re right. He has made the decision to treat his stomach like a garbage can for many years and is suffering the consequences now.

His lack of energy and motivation plays directly into his apathy towards most things in his life. To me, he seems to be counting down the days until he dies of heart disease.

I’ve also seen how it has affected his career and a lack of any significant promotions over a twenty year period. He seems content to go with the flow and allows life to control him, versus the other way around.

He’s caught in a viscous cycle of complacency and It’s tragic to see.

Now Jason is a different story entirely. He lives each day with passion and abundance and it’s no surprise that he has a flourishing business and a huge network of friends and contacts.

His dedication to his health carries over into his business which carries over into his home life. He is constantly on the go, traveling all over the country, and taking family vacations.

Why This Matters To You

You probably don’t care about my friends but it illustrates a point.

And my point is this:

Each of you have a choice on how to spend your life. It can be spent being lazy, avoiding the hard things, and just grinding through the days or you can choose to live a life that inspires others around you, teaches your kids what a healthy lifestyle is, and empowers you to push your limits and to be a better person.

Just like my friends chose their paths, you can too.

And the good news is that you get to choose any path you want starting right now. Just because you’ve been eating like shit and beating up your body since Vanilla Ice was popular doesn’t mean you can’t start over.

Johan has the opportunity to create an incredible life;one he is deeply passionate about, but will he?

Only he can answer that.

As for you, what will you choose?

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