Choosing Money Over Good Health:  4 Reasons Why Health is True Wealth

Are you choosing money over good health? No entrepreneur chooses to have bad health. Due to poor life decisions, choices we feel we must make, a lack of knowledge about health, and other factors, health issues arise. Good health is important for maintaining a successful business. When reading the valuable words of Ecclesiasticus, I took them to heart and decided to write this article that emphasizes the importance of choosing good health over the tireless pursuit of obtaining riches.

When I first started on my entrepreneur journey, I had a specific goal in mind as well as a timeframe to achieve that goal. I wanted to gain as much knowledge working for the law firm as possible and transition into running my own business as an entrepreneur within five years. I achieved my goal, but at the expense of my good health. I look back on the three choices I constantly made that contributed to my health suffering.

• I worked long arduous hours.
• I burned the midnight oil.
• I didn’t think about my health so much accept that I ate healthy when possible and took supplements.

But one day, I got a symptom in my right eyelid. I was in college during finals week and was admitted to the hospital. I checked myself out of the hospital after doctors couldn’t find out what was wrong and kept going until I lost my voice. I kept going until I could not swallow and lost weight. I kept going until I ended up on life support, not once but twice, and then I took a seat to regroup and regain my health after prayerful consideration. The pursuit of money and material possessions can make you loose your health and your way.

While we live in a world that places utmost importance on wealth and materialistic achievements, we must have balance. Read the valuable words below, and see if you can agree.

“Better is the poor, being sound and strong of constitution, than a rich man that is afflicted in his body. Health and good estate of body are above all gold, and a strong body above infinite wealth. ¹⁶There is no riches above a sound body, and no joy above the joy of the heart. ¹⁷Death is better than a bitter life or continual sickness.” Ecclesiasticus 30:14-17 -KJVAA

Do you agree with those words? They were written by a very wise man long ago through divine inspiration. If you feel as an entrepreneur that having money would be of greater benefit than good health, keep reading. You will read about lessons to ponder over, and we will discuss four reasons why good health is true wealth.

Why Entrepreneurs Work Late & Long Hours

It’s important to understand why many entrepreneurs work long hours. Cost of living, increasing competition, keeping the business afloat, a lack of adequate help, guilt, and more, are reasons why entrepreneurs work late and long hours. Working long hours and failing to get sufficient rest can and will contribute to the detriment of an entrepreneur’s health, especially when repeated time and time again. Yes, you must make money, and money is very necessary to survive in this system.

While it may be necessary to work long hours on rare occasions, making a habit of such conduct will surely lead to subpar health. Many men suffer erectile dysfunction, heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, increased stress, and other ailments. Many women have found themselves suffering hormonal imbalances, elevated stress levels, high blood pressure and other ailments.

You may reason that once the money is made, you can fix the issues that forsaking your good health has brought on. However, is this reasoning feasible?

Reason 1: Grind Hard Not Smart?

As you read that sub-heading, what came to mind? Does that subheading describe you? There are many entrepreneurs burning the midnight oil, working over 80 hours a week to make it happen. While this will yield results, what is it doing to your body? Could it be having an impact on your health that will not only effect you but your loved ones for future generations to come? I’ve heard business owners say, “We gotta get this money,” or “Get this money by any means necessary.” You are grinding hard and not smart. Your very DNA is at stake. How?

Failing to get adequate rest can result in the body’s inability to repair it’s DNA, according to a research study published in the journal, Occupational and Environmental Medicine. This study was conducted on 50 individuals who worked night shift. Although this study is about employees, many entrepreneurs can gain insight into what happens to the body when it is sleep deprived.

Prioritizing Your Health and a Decrease in Productivity

Lack of sufficient sleep has been linked to a lack of productively according to a study conducted by Stanford University. Working long hours also can effect the circadian rhythms of the body. This can lead to premature aging by affecting collagen production, a reduction in muscle mass, as well as bone degeneration. You may think, “Well, I didn’t know I was putting all this at risk by working late for my business.”

Most entrepreneurs don’t think about the effects the lack of rest will have on their systems, but this is important to consider.Once you have gotten into the habit of working long and late hours, it becomes difficult to break the habit. Consider how you can get your body back on track. Here are two important suggestions to consider:

1. Forbes Magazine mentioned that prioritizing sleep can increase productivity, decrease stress, and regulate your hormones. Set your phones for a regular bed-time and regular wake up time as if you are setting any appointment to meet with a client. Make an appointment with good sleep.
2. Get daily exercise. Exercise is important, because an active body leads to a rested body. Exercise helps to regulate the hormones, helps to relieve stress, and it is reasonable that a body that is tired will need sleep. So do not deprive your body of about 20 to 30 minutes of exercise a day with the intent of getting in a productive work-day and a restful night’s sleep.

Reason 2: You Cannot Take It With You

A dead person leaves his riches for others to prosper from. The money you accumulate will one day be left for someone else to enjoy, but do you want that to happen prematurely? Think about the pyramids, and the tombs of the ancient Pharaohs which have been raided by archeologists. The relics sit in museums on display for onlookers to be reminded that although these ancient humans worked hard, accumulated much wealth, and had intentions of using these materials in the afterlife, they were left here to be looted and sold to the highest bidder for the living to enjoy.

Why do I say looted? Because those who were buried most likely intended to stay that way forever. We have given professional names to grave looters, but that is another topic for another day. So before you grind yourself to an early grave, enjoy what you make. Take meaningful Vacations, and enjoy what you have worked hard for.

Sacrificing family time and sleep may seem reasonable for a time, but what if you were told, “You will get rich, but you will only have six years to spend with your family after you have gained the wealth.” Would that time be sufficient? Granted we all have a limited time, and we do not know when our time will expire on this earth. Yet, oftentimes, people choose lifestyles that speed up their demise without realizing it.

If you had the opportunity to optimize your health and gain a comfortable lifestyle would you choose that over the latter? “In a first global analysis of the loss of life and health associated with working long hours, WHO and ILO estimate that, in 2016, 398 000 people died from stroke and 347 000 from heart disease as a result of having worked at least 55 hours a week. Between 2000 and 2016, the number of deaths from heart disease due to working long hours increased by 42%, and from stroke by 19% according to the World Health Organization.

This study places importance on prioritizing good sleep. Without sleep the body just cannot continue to function properly.

Reason 3: You Can Choose Good Health by Making Memories 

Walking into a doctor’s office several times a year, spending time trying to gain your health back, and paying for prescriptions and supplements can costs hundreds of thousands even millions of dollars. As an entrepreneur you have choices. You can choose to put systems and processes in place that will enable you to make money in your sleep or you can work your good health away. Which do you choose?

You may have learned to be a work-a-holic. That behavior can be unlearned. Rest is a gift, and good sleep is a refreshment to the body. When I was a child, I remember having a father that worked very hard. He was a very strong man. I remember looking out of the bathroom window one day and seeing him carry a transmission across the yard in his arms. He never took vacations. He was always too busy to spend much time with us. When he did spend some time with us it was rushed and rarely meaningful. On rare occasions daddy would live in the moment. It wasn’t until his dying years that he realized he needed to spend time with us.

Although, I knew he meant well and wanted to provide for us, it taught me to be a work-a-holic until I was forced to take a reality check with my own health. What good is working yourself ill if when you make the money you spend it all trying to gain your health back? I had pretty much missed my children’s baby years by working and pursuing a higher education with the intent of providing a better life. There was no balance.

I was choosing wealth over my health and did not realize it. There are many articles and some studies that talk about the benefit of taking vacations even if they are short ones.

If you are self-employed, an employee of your own business, or whatever position you hold in your company, consider taking time off each year to rest and rejuvenate. This will do wonders for your health. You will contribute to making meaningful memories, and you may even add years to your life, as well as avoid expensive medical bills due to the health problems that arise from a lack of rest and rejuvenation.

Reason 4: You Can Grow Your Business Faster

Creativity is bolstered when you have good health. It is stunted when you are ill. When you are sick, you focus on the illness, worry about your business, and oftentimes end up suffering more health problems. The lack of creativity tends to stunt your business growth. Creative people are also delegators.

Finding a good virtual assistance can take hours off your work-day. You may feel you cannot afford a virtual assistant, but think of the relationships you can build with potential clients when you have time to focus on actually growing your business. It is difficult for a sick entrepreneur to meet with clients,  attend events for entrepreneurs, and build lasting relationships. You may try to handle compliance or other backend responsibilities. Consider contacting Moore Financial Services to assist you.

The money you spend from time to time to have the knowledgable consultants at this firm assist you, is a drop in a bucket compared to the time and energy you save.

Sit down and count the number of hours each week you spend on doing back office work in your business. Are you trying to write your own business plan? That can take 15-20 hours or more not including the research. Are you trying to write your own by-laws or operating agreement? That can take 10-15 hours or more depending on your business’ organizational structure. Consider reaching out to Moore Financial Services to have these things done. Write down the wage by hour according to industry standards you would pay yourself for drafting such documents.

Now write down how much money you could make off each new client you would secure.You will realize you have wasted money by spending time on trying to work on your own business instead of hiring help. The time you spend without rest, breaking down your health, could be used to get rest and get more clients. You are staying up long hours trying to accomplish these tasks when you could be saving your health and reducing your stress. So work smart not hard and laboriously.

If someone were to tell you, you will become a billionaire next week. You would most likely jump at the opportunity. However, if they told you, you will get cancer and die within 7 days, would you take that billion dollars? A reasonable person would say, “No!” Why not? Because you value your good health, right? The same principle applies when working to gain wealth. Do not do it at the expense of your good health.