Bloody Noses, Vices, & Leadership … Oh My!

Two weeks ago I found myself in the hospital emergency room. I was there because I experienced a truly epic nose bleed. After trying to stop the down-pouring of blood for 2 hours, I finally conceded and went to the hospital. I was put in a room and waited, for what felt like a forever. Then it happened, my body said, “That is enough.” I had lost tons of blood, my blood pressure dropped, I finally passed out. I awoke to several doctors and nurses lifting me up to a bed while simultaneously cutting my shirt off and poking me with things.

Minutes later, as the IV fluids and oxygen kicked in, I laid there and stared up at the ceiling and thought to myself, “ Isn’t it amazing how the smallest and most insignificant things can destroy us.” You don’t think of a bloody nose as being life-threatening, although after some research it has happened – I guess the great Genghis Khan died of a nosebleed.

The Vices of Destruction

So the next day I decided to look at what were some of the small things in life that were destroying me. The first thing was my craving of diet soda. There is overwhelming research of the health effects of caffeine, and the absolutely disastrous effects of Aspartame (the sweetener in Diet Soda and many non-sugar sweeteners.) Here is an article and a video if you want to know more, but that is not what this article is about.

It has now been two weeks free of those substances and I am feeling great. But dealing with the dizziness, extreme thirst, jittery hands, and massive exhaustion for two weeks reminded me of how the small vices or problems in life, business, and leadership can bring us to the edge of destruction, or limit us in ways that we never knew. For those that follow my writings, I actually write a lot about this topic. I feel one must be vigilant and always looking for ways to improve and grow.

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Can you say, “I made it?”

Two days ago I presented an all day workshop on execution to a company in Ohio. I normally would not have been able to get through the day without some soda and caffeine to artificially stimulate some energy. I was on my feet the entire day; talking, interacting, motivating, problem solving …and I made it. I drank more than 8 bottles of water throughout the day, was exausted at the end of the day, but I made it.

The next day I was up at 4:20 AM EST, to catch my flight to California. This is 1:30 am California time. I was pretty tired all day because of the exhaustion of the previous day and my lack of sleep, but I made it to 9:00 PM PST without any artificial stimulation …I made it.

Often times the smallest habits and vices in life or business, can be the things that cause the greatest impact for your life or business. Often, one small course correction can lead you to new heights. I challenge you to make this week, a week of discovering those vices. Make a plan, ask others for help, and execute change in your life or organization that will create miracles of success. I hope in the end, you can say, “I made it.”