and thoughts out of my head and stay focused on my exercise time.
at your business, start with a set of small goals that get you to your larger goal. Three extra calls or tasks a day gets you more than 700 tasks over the year. When looking at exercise, if you’re out of shape and haven’t been to the gym for a while, it’s probably unreasonable to set a goal to lose 25 pounds in four weeks if you’ve got another 50 years left in your life. Losing 20 pounds over six months is very reasonable; 50 pounds over a year would be amazing. Keep in mind you need a goal that is sus- tainable and part of your everyday lifestyle. People often say to me, “Ben, you’re in really good shape; how do you do it?” Exercise is just part of my life. I’ve been exercising four or five days a week for 15 years. Make your goal reasonable and keep in mind life is a marathon of a journey, and not a sprint. So many people burn out because they try to do too much too fast or without enough variety. They get discour- aged because it’s practically impossible to keep up that pace up forever. MIX IT UP The great thing about exercise, though, is that there are an endless number of choices, so mix it up. It doesn’t have to be a grind. Go to a spin
or Zumba class. Stretch or do yoga. Cross-train on a treadmill, elliptical machine or bike, or go swimming. Work in some weight training or just get out- side and ski, walk or hike. Health comes first, and business is second. But don’t get me wrong. It’s not an either-or. I promise you, you will see a significant improvement in your attitude, confidence and businesses performance if you work on your health first. So make a plan to get in the gym or exercise at least four days a week. If Conner at 12 years old can get to the gym, certainly you can, too—or find yourself some other version of exercise. Here’s to your continuing happy new year—and to a healthy business. •
IT’S A LIFETIME-LONG LIFESTYLE MARATHON
You have to keep in mind, it’s a life- time-long lifestyle marathon and not a sprint. So don’t go out and kill it on the first day, or you’ll be so sore that you don’t want to do it again. Start slow, work out with light weights or walk short distanc- es. Have a small goal of adding a certain amount each week. It’s really pretty simple. Too often people tend to overcomplicate it, maybe because of marketing or maybe because they think they can’t do it without someone else’s support. Last year, I injured my back, and it forced me to try something new, so I starting walking in the morning instead of going to the gym. Next thing I knew, within 60 days I was doing five miles every morning, walking at a 14-min- ute-mile pace. After that first two months, I started weaving in two to three minutes of running at intervals, and over that next 30 days, that pace got faster and faster, and I was running three to five miles. Keep it simple and build small goals that are sus- tainable, and you’ll have a winner. You’ve got to make your goals mea- surable and reasonable. If you’re looking
Ben Rao is president of Community Buying Group and a seasoned entrepreneur and real estate investor with a passion for helping other entrepreneurs and the community. In the past 11 years, he has
founded three successful startups in the technology and real estate investment industries. From its beginnings in 2010 as a two-person operation in the garage of one of his rental properties, CBG has grown into an organization that employs 10 people and reaches more than 100,000 real estate investors and 350 affiliate organizations. CBGwas a Top 20 finalist in the international LaunchKC technology grants competition and a 2016 finalist for the Truly the Best Award for medium-sized businesses in Jackson County. For more information, visit www.CommunityBuyingGroup.com.
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