How Good Health Fuels Your Success (And What I Learned the Hard Way)
Napoleon Hill is one of my favorite writers. Every morning, I listen to his speech before starting work. It has become a religious mantra I follow daily. Only if we knew sanskrit, may be this is what our religious mantras were supposed to tell us too. Napoleon’s mantra emphasizes consistency: no amount of talent or hard work can replace the results consistency delivers. This rings true when I reflect on it. Financial gurus also highlight the compounding effects of steady effort.
I want to be consistent, but the biggest enemy of consistency is emotions and feelings. Thirty days ago, I began this journey, yet I haven’t achieved one key goal: waking up the moment my alarm rings. I look outside—it’s still dark, the weather is cold, and I’m nestled in comfortable bed linens. In that cozy moment, I tell myself, “I won’t sleep; I’ll just close my eyes for a few seconds.” That small indulgence brings so much happiness, but it disrupts the timeline—the schedule I strive to maintain.
I’ve pushed hard to keep the rhythm, sometimes being overly harsh on myself. Over the past month, I ignored my body’s signals. It desperately needed sleep and rest to rejuvenate. Humans are peculiar, spending a third of their lives sleeping. During this period of striving for consistency, my hours of physical work increased. When I worked, I focused solely on work, which burned more energy. I needed to eat more food and drink more water to keep up.
Its a Marathon
At the start, I began strong, like a sprint race. I ate nutritious food, drank plenty of water, and managed my time well. But life kept pressing the call button, and I had to answer every time. Each time I did, my schedule—when and what to do—was thrown off track. This frustrated me as I tried to catch up. I forgot this is a marathon, not a sprint. Gradually, I drank less water and ate less food, trying to reclaim time lost to unscheduled tasks.
Then, I crashed. I fell terribly sick, and my body demanded a complete shutdown. My eyes watered every time I looked at a computer screen. My head ached when I thought about work. My ears hurt when I picked up the phone. The symptoms were so intense that my body rejected food. All it craved was rest—total, complete rest. I slept for a day and a half, waking only to eat small meals, drink tea or water, and sleep again. It took 36 hours of continuous rest with minimal food for a full recovery.
As the saying goes, “You either listen to me, or I’ll make you listen.” That’s what my body told me, loud and clear. While sick, all I could think about was my unmet schedule. But I reassured myself it was okay. I’m in this for the long haul. I’ll study, work, and prepare for the future once I’m well, this time prioritizing my health. It’s better to maintain the vehicle with regular care than to need a complete overhaul in the garage.
Taking care of oneself isn’t hard.
The body needs good food—protein and fiber—to burn fuel efficiently, and water to transport nutrients. Add to that proper, complete sleep for rest. These are simple and readily available. I’ve now incorporated these health steps into my schedule. I finish breakfast by 9 AM, lunch by 1 PM, and dinner by 8 PM. I sleep by midnight and wake at 6 AM. Before bed, I avoid scrolling social media, which allows for focused, distraction-free sleep. Waking at 6 AM aligns with my REM cycle, helping my brain flush out toxins.
As I age and read more, one ideology keeps resurfacing:
“You don’t need to do a lot in a short time. Do small things for a long time. Doing small things isn’t difficult, but building the habit is.”
