The Business Athlete Protocol: Mental, Physical and Emotional Preparation for Business Performance Requirements.

What is Health? Health is Energy! And Energy is the Fuel of the Business Athlete.

The traditional approach of many corporate health initiatives is to offer short-term solutions for being overweight, sleep deprivation, stress, physical inactivity and lowered performance, etc (symptoms) without dealing with destructive individual lifestyle habits and choices (cause). That's just like rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic! By addressing the cause of any problem the symptoms disappear for good. That's why all EBA programs take a common sense approach that places responsibility for behavior directly on the human being where it belongs.

Energy stimulates action. Most people simply don't understand where the basic sources of energy come from and more importantly, how they can work for them. There are four primary sources of energy, which have a major impact on our daily experience of life. Creating awareness to these forms of energy and developing a strategy for how to nurture each one is fundamental in becoming a highly effective and sustainable performer. Energizing the Business Athlete™ programs are based upon core organizing principles, which are:

1. Physical Energy

If your doctor told you they had a new medication that would prolong your life, reduce your risk of premature death from all causes by 50-70 percent, improve your quality of sleep, enhance your productivity at work, and improve your ability to manage psychological stress, would you take it? The only catch is it takes 20-40 minutes, four days a week to "swallow." You may be tired of hearing how important physical activity is for your energy level, but most people need to hear it again, because over 60 percent of modern day business people don't exercise regularly...and they wonder why they're tired! The primary reason why so many people experience fatigue, poor concentration and energy levels on a daily basis is simply due to a lack of oxygen, meaning physical inactivity and poor breathing habits. Remember, it's a scientific fact that movement creates energy so respecting and taking care of your body with daily exercise, which increases oxygen consumption, balanced with sufficient rest and relaxation is the foundation for any business athlete.

2. Nutritional Energy

Nourishing your body on a daily basis with proper nutrients is like putting high performance, high octane fuel in a Ferrari. Unfortunately, many people have the habit of pouring impure toxic, carbonated junk into their system and expecting the same result. People who have a desire to live daily life with high energy, vitality and concentration levels need to adopt healthy eating habits and consume adequate amounts of structured water.

3. Mental Energy

By keeping your body in shape by performing the "correct" exercise and being physically healthy, you'll have the power to conduct energy. And by maximizing that exercise by nourishing your body with high performance fuel, in the form of good, balanced nutrition, you'll have a source of energy. In simple terms, you've got a high performance sports car that's filled with high performance fuel. However, that in it self will not take you in the direction you want to go. That is merely part of the proven formula. What you need now is the steering wheel to guide you in the right direction. You need the capacity to direct your powerful energy. Therefore, you also need to be mentally healthy and prepared.  

Just as you need to exercise your body on a daily basis to provide it with an abundance of oxygen and keep it both strong and healthy; you also need to exercise your mind on a daily basis as well. Think of it this way - it's about having the ability to channel your focus and concentrate mental energy to direct yourself to get you to where you want to go. That's how mental energy works! The more focussed your mental energy, the sharper your vision. The stronger your mental energy, the stronger your grip will become on that steering wheel, which in turn gives you much more control on where you are and what you will be able to achieve each day.

4. Emotional (Heart & Soul) Energy

This is the elite and highest source of energy you can experience! It's the form of energy that makes all the difference. Heart and soul energy is the driving force of a burning, intense desire. It's the form of energy that separates those people from the ones who have the same physical and mental capabilities. If the physical energy is the condition of the car, the nutritional energy the high performance fuel, the mental energy the steering wheel, then the heart and soul energy is the accelerator! 

You can't purchase heart and soul energy, in fact you can't purchase any of the four sources of energy. No one can give it to you and no one can take it away. You have to take responsibility to create it yourself, which ultimately gives you that profound feeling of self-satisfaction and contentment. This form of energy can be felt and experienced in many different emotions like excitement, joy, laughter, optimism, empathy, passion and love, which is in each and every one of us!

What does all this mean?

In short, energy is all around us. It flows through our actions, motions, reactions, emotions, thoughts and feelings. So why do so many people still have a restricted source of energy? Well, when your body is living a sedentary lifestyle, when you never take it "out of the garage," no energy can flow. If you never fuel up with high performance nutrition and oxygen, you'll never improve your capacity to conduct energy. And without the ability to focus your mental energy, you'll be missing out on the important opportunity of being self-directed and in control of your energy. And without faith in your life you will never be able to experience the pure energy of your heart and soul. Unfortunately, this poor state of being has become the norm for many a business athlete.