Fat, Forty, and Fired.
Watch TED Talks; they just might save your life.
This TED Talk and the subsequent book most probably saved my life. I don't even want to think about what would have happened if I hadn't seen the speech. Heart attack at minimum, maybe a broken home, who knows, but I wouldn't have made it safely to my forties.
The whole story behind The Elements of Lifestyle is about accepting responsibility, taking action, and not waiting for a life disaster. There are too many stories about folks who change their lifestyle following a heart attack, after a divorce, or after getting fired. My idea was to do my best to skip the calamity by changing before the tragedy would strike.
Once you get past the initial pains and learn to ignore the environment that's unsupportive of change, the ball starts rolling quickly. You practice kaizen — the art of small but constant improvement —, and it quickly compounds into a wonderful living. But too much of the good stuff can be just as bad, so it's important to find your enough, that middle path between the excess and scarcity.
Peter Kos
That's where the book's subtitle comes from, and after I published it, I realized that's a whole next book behind that tagline. —It's on my list for 2022 because I need to finish another project first.
Titling the chapter of my book Fat, Forty, and Fired was the least I could do to honor the speech that changed and saved my life. My wish is that everyone would find a simple idea that sparks such profound change for them.
Some folks who read my book told me they got inspired to adopt a healthier lifestyle. One started running, another walking uphill, and making a difference in at least one person's life is more than I could ever wish for. —It gives meaning to my writing.
I hope you find your thing. Make an effort. Apply intentional life design, practice kaizen, and find your enough.
🎙Audio narration
Here's me trying something new — reading chapters of my book. I've had a record and publish an audiobook on my task list for a while now, but I haven't given it any priority. There's quite some work and effort required for studio-quality recording. But I can do this lame-quality sloppy thing for my blog, and you can listen to it here (members only):
BTW: my book is now available in hardcover format:
