Now is the key

Uncle Joe got fired from his construction job.

His nephew asked him what happened.

“You know what a foreman is?” he asked.

“Yes, the one who stands around and watches the other men work, but what’s that got to do with it?” the nephew asked.

“Well, he just got jealous of me,” Uncle Joe explained.

The nephew asked again, “Why was he jealous of you?”

He answered, “Because everyone thought I was the foreman.”

It’s evident that the guy who was fired is extremely lazy.

What is laziness? Someone once said that laziness is getting into the habit of taking a rest even before getting tired. The opposite of laziness then is not just hard work, but a mindset of self-discipline. “Discipline is doing what I can do today, to enable me to do tomorrow what I can’t do today,” goes the wisdom from another anonymous source.

There’s no such thing as instant success. Never trust any product that offers instant weight loss. My hero the late motivational speaker Zig Ziglar, said, “I took up an offer for me to lose 30 pounds in 30 days. It worked. I lost 30 days!”

Can you lower your cholesterol 10 points by bedtime? I doubt it. Can you run in a 15K marathon if you haven’t jogged in years? No way. Can you lose 10 pounds in a day? You shouldn’t even try.

But there are so many simple things you can do today to start being healthy: put down the brownie, stay away from the soda, throw away those cancer sticks, and put on those running shoes.

Have you had your medical checkup? Have you visited your dentist? Do you take adequate amount of vitamins? Do you make sure that you’re eating right? Have you ever taken the time to read more literature on health topics? All these things take time and effort and concentration. In other words, all these take an enormous amount of discipline to do. The contrary is easier to do, because all you have to do is nothing! You don’t need to invest your time, effort and concentration. But once you lose your health, and it drains your wealth, and then you decide to start investing your time, effort and concentration, it’ll be too late.

Discipline is important. It engages you to study and take in reality so you can put order in your life.

I do more than 330 speaking engagements annually. So I go to the gym at least twice a week, watch carefully what I eat, take in plenty of vitamins every day and watch my lifestyle. I’ve long decided to honor God with my body. And after years of this kind of discipline, I’m enjoying the rewards: I’m able to do want I want, and I’m able to live a happy and fulfilled life!

I’m so glad that many, many moons ago, I looked at myself in the mirror, didn’t like the parts that wiggle and jiggle, and decided, “I’ll start getting healthy now!” That transformation began in two seconds, when I made the decision; I simply spent the rest of my life keeping that decision and maintaining the change.

You should too. One very rich but sick businessman said, “I can assure you without any trace of doubt that there’s absolutely no glamour in a 14-karat golden bedpan!”

(Let’s stay connected! Click on to www.franciskong.com or “Like” my page at www.facebook.com/franciskong2. You can also listen to my radio program “Business Matters” aired at 8 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. during weekdays over “The Master’s Touch” 98.7 dzFE-FM, the classical music station.)