Strength for Life

Tim Russert: Big Man, Big Loss (and 1 in Half a Million)

As you know by now, we lost Tim Russert last week. A sudden, tragic and painful loss, he will be missed by his family, friends and so many millions.

Tim was a brilliant man with a huge heart whose authenticity and values were clear to see. I appreciated him, along with millions of others, for who he was and the job he did for all of us.

Like all lives, it’s sad when they end but Tim’s passing is further reaching than most for he impacted so many. The good news is he made a difference the bad news is that means all the more people will feel the loss.

[As tragic as Tim’s passing is, it’s important to note what Dr. Oz said: “Of the 450,000 people a year who die of heart attacks in this country, probably half of them never knew they were at risk of a heart attack.” That means Tim, as special as he was in many ways was just 1 in nearly half a million each year who die from heart disease. That seems like too many to me.]

In every major life event, such as death, there are life-lessons to be learned: Allow me to share a few that come to mind in this case.

The first and most obvious is you never know how long you have. Thus it’s wise to avoid things that lesson your odds of seeing tomorrow—like ignoring your health and wellbeing.

Walking the Tightrope of Health?

Is Your Financial Goal to Avoid Bankruptcy?

Now that’s a crazy question, right?

You wouldn’t do it.

Yet, this is precisely what you're doing when you accept "health" as your “good enough” standard for personal wellbeing.

As you will learn in Strength for Life the tragic reality is that to the vast majority of us health is quite literally defined as the “the absence of disease.” We may like to believe we want more, that we desire more vibrant health but the painful reality is that we’re settling for just "not being sick"—satisfied to avoid physical bankruptcy.

“No, this just can’t be,” you say. “Not me.” 

It seems wise, a good thing to be “healthy.” However, when your aim is to "avoid illness," you stop when you stop at "good enough." That’s how goals work. 

The problem is quite simple: With health you’re not aiming high enough rather you're settling for less than you deserve.