Your Health Is Your Greatest Asset

Are you trading your health for money?  

On this episode, I speak with Stevyn Guinnip, author of Grow Wellthy, about the idea of “health net worth,” the compounding effect of daily habits, and why retirement planning should focus on health span, not just life span. 

Key Takeaways:

🔹 Your health is an asset that directly impacts your financial life.

🔹 Retirement planning should consider health span, not just life span.

🔹 Small health habits compound just like financial investments.

🔹 Identifying health assets and liabilities helps reduce long-term risk.

🔹 The four-step hierarchy of health includes mindset, mend, meals, and movement.

🔹 Protecting your energy is as important as protecting your money.

🔹 You cannot separate health and wealth, they influence each other over time.

Tony’s Take: If we treat health as an asset and invest in it early, we give our future selves more options, more energy, and fewer regrets.

Connect with Stevyn Guinnip:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevyn-guinnip/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/growwellthy/
• Email: info@growwellthy.com 
• Grow Wellthy Website: www.growwellthy.com

Books:

• Grow Wellthy: The Financial Advisor's 4-Step Plan to Protect Your Health Like an Asset (Amazon: https://amzn.to/4pKP8Ft)(ebook: https://growwellthybook.com)

Bio: 

Stevyn Guinnip, MS, is an author, health coach, and international speaker dedicated to helping financial advisors and their clients live well longer. After surviving a personal health crisis, she founded Grow Wellthy™ to merge her expertise in exercise physiology with her firsthand understanding of the financial world as a financial advisor’s daughter. Today, she speaks globally, coaches advisors, and equips firms with strategies to protect health as the true retirement multiplier. Stevyn lives in Portugal with her husband and two children.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:04

Get ready before life happens.podcast.comlife.net Welcome to Get Ready Before Life Happens.

SPEAKER_01 0:18

I'm your host, Tony Stewart. Today I'm joined by Stephen Gwinnip, author of Grow Wealthy and Health Strategist for Financial Advisors. Stephen, welcome back to the podcast.

SPEAKER_00 0:28

Thank you, Tony. So happy to spend time with you again.

SPEAKER_01 0:33

Yeah, I am as well. You're doing amazing work. So, you know, to start off, uh, tell us a little bit about yourself and your origin story. What is your origin story and how did it inspire you to write Grow Wealthy?

SPEAKER_00 0:46

So my origin story is kind of a mix of lots of things. It started when I was the daughter of a financial advisor at the age of 11. I got to watch, excuse me, my dad grow his financial practice over 32 years and um saw the ins and outs of that, of what it what life is like in a financial advisor's life and family and travel and all of that. And I decided through that that people had a plenty of money if they worked with financial advisors. What they didn't have was plenty of help because they would retire his clients, his colleagues, and they would just have one good year or sit on the couch and not feel well enough to be able to travel or do the things that they had spent all this time creating money for and building wealth for. And so I was like, I'm gonna go fix that and I'm gonna become an exercise physiologist and make sure people have plenty of health so they can have these great retirements. It seemed so idyllic and perfect to me. And uh I did that for 20 years and realized that that wasn't the whole story either. And so um I almost died in Australia, which we've talked about this in the past, but I had a a sepsis, a near-death experience while I was uh launching a kettlebell program in Australia. And overnight I lost all my hormones, my gut health was destroyed from antibiotics, my muscle wasted away. And I found myself basically a decade older um physiologically. And I was like, whoa, what is this body? Oh my goodness. Um, how uh how do I navigate this stage of life? And it came became very clear to me that there were some missing pieces of health that um that builds your health over decades, not just days, right? So not just can you run this 5K or can you lift this weight or do you have six-pack abs, but can you stave off uh chronic disease and can you prevent something like what happened to me happening to you because I was doing a lot of things wrong? So I went back to the research, I found out a whole bunch of things that I was missing, like sleep, recovery, stress management, a lot of other things. And um also found out that the principles that you do when you're trying to raise uh grow your wealth, your money, are very similar to the principles that you need to do to grow your health or protect it. And once I realized those similar concepts and how they interacted, I was like, oh, this is perfect. This is what I was born to do. I was born to help people understand their health as an asset, that it is an asset for your everyday, for your business and for your retirement as well. So I started working in the financial services industry, helping people get their health back under control. And that's when, Tony, a client said to me, Steven, you have to write a book about this because nobody's looking at health as an asset through their financial lens. And um, I was like, You're crazy. I don't have time for that. And here we are, three years after he suggested it, I actually have the book. So that's my origin story.

SPEAKER_01 4:09

That is awesome and congrats. And you know, uh we've talked about it for people who are watching and listening. I'll put in a link to the earlier episode with uh Steven so you can check out the conversation because that is an amazing story that you're able to overcome that. But it's a reminder that you know uh uh medical incidents can happen to anyone anywhere at any time. And so the taking care of your health is when we you know, and as you point out, is when we think about our health, is many people retirement uh retire, and their health span is much shorter, and you talk about this than their lifespan, and they're not able to enjoy their retirement because they haven't taken care of their health, you know. All the money in the world isn't gonna help you if you can't you don't feel well.

SPEAKER_00 5:03

None of them, I mean, the only thing that saved me was that emergency surgery I had in Australia. It doesn't matter how much money I had, it was like life or death, it was just health at that moment. That's all that mattered. And the scary thing for me is that for years I had had my body speaking to me and giving me clues that things were not like they should be. And I was ignoring them and I wasn't paying attention or giving it the space and attention that it needed. And um, I think there's a lot of us out there that do that and we're like, oh, it's normal for me to get kind of shaky when I don't eat a meal, right? Like, that's normal. I need to go eat some sugar so I feel better. Or it's normal that I just only sleep five hours a night. Yeah, I don't need much sleep, you know. And so we start to think things are normal, and then our health is like, hey, pay attention to me, pay attention to me. And we don't do it soon enough. And then it feels like a surprise when when life happens, but often there's things we could have been doing or noticing early that would prevent or protect us at that time.

SPEAKER_01 6:10

I I I love that um, I'm just making a note um that there are things we can often do to protect ourselves before life happens, hell, which is you know, why I ever uh changed the name of the podcast, is because there's so much not necessarily preparation. Um, sometimes it's preparing, sometimes it's just preventative measures. You know, we think about it like, you know, maybe if we're gonna go for a long car ride, car trip, you know, on a vacation, you know, we're gonna take it, our car's probably in for a tune-up before we take it on vacation. So it's like those are things, you know, that I love that you're bringing it up is that, you know, not only with our health, but with our finances overall, there's a lot that we can do to be ready for certain eventualities. Um, so one of the things that you talk about is a health net worth. What is our health net worth?

SPEAKER_00 7:09

So it's just a play on words, right? Like you've got your net worth, which we always think of as money. If you think of your health as an asset, it has a net worth too. And it's just the difference between your health assets and your health liabilities. So a good next question is well, what's a health asset? What's a health liability? So there's lots of different ones. And I like for people just to take a white piece of paper, draw a line across the top and a line down the middle, and on one side you put assets, one side you put liabilities, and you just list all the assets that are going well for you. Like, I don't know, you you're able to maintain a good, healthy weight, you feel good, you've got good energy, you sleep well, um, you know, you don't have to take a nap at two o'clock in the afternoon. You've got um you you love to bike ride. I don't know, just all the things that are good. And then on the other side, the liability side, it might be things like, oh, my weight's creeping up, or my blood pressure's not what it used to be, and the doctor's a little concerned about it, or I feel sluggish, or you know, I get shaky when I miss a meal. And those would be liabilities. And if you can look at those and try to make your assets list longer than your liabilities, or even mitigate those liabilities, like are there any that you can um fix easily by either education or habits or whatever it is? Or let's say one of your liabilities is that you have a family history of heart disease or breast cancer. Maybe you can't fix that risk, but you can, you can't make it go away, but you can do things that are gonna make you less risky for you, right? And so that's just a an awareness that a lot of people don't take the time to really just kind of brain dump all the things that are going well and all the things that your body might be talking to you about. Like you said with that car analogy, you're going on a trip, you're gonna go in for a tune-up, but especially if you notice there's like a thunking noise or a squeak, right? And then you're just like, uh, I hear it, something might not be right. That's the thing that would go on your list. Like, my left knee's just really been bothering me, or there's a spot on my skin that doesn't look right. I should probably get it checked out, or you know, anything like that. And I just don't think that we take the time to be super intentional around these little things and nuances that are happening with our health. So that's how to have good health net worth.

SPEAKER_01 9:31

Yeah, and and again, for everybody watching and listening and wondering why we're talking about health is this does tie in because if you're not healthy, you know, what's the point of retirement planning? You know, because you want to be able to enjoy your retirement if you work all these years. Um so how does Grow Wealthy pick up where financial planning leaves off?

SPEAKER_00 9:55

Okay, so financial planning is uh answering the question do I have enough money to retire? How long will my my money last? How you know, if I expect to live this long, do I have enough? Right. That's kind of the main thing. It's preparing that nest egg for the future and optimizing it along the way. Where we kind of take a little bit, take it a little bit further with this health conversation is asking the question, will I be healthy enough to enjoy it? Right. And and it's the difference between a good retirement and a not so good retirement. It's the difference between living your retirement in sick span, like lots of illnesses and doctor's visits and discomfort, and spending your money on things that are going to try to keep you alive, versus uh a retirement in health span. So free from a lot of medical intervention, feeling good with the ability to go do the things that you want and spending your money on things that are fun, that you enjoy. That's really where this health as wealth conversation becomes important and relevant in the financial world.

SPEAKER_01 11:14

Yeah, and to get back, you know, because I I know you use this analogy, it is an investment in yourself. Is that some of us, especially if we're building our practices, work very long hours, we eat lunch at our desk. Sometimes, you know, we just grab something on the go because it's more convenient and the food isn't good. We're putting our bodies under a lot of stress. So it is an investment in yourself. And so when you think about creating a financial plan, is it's has to be holistic and think of your mind, your body, and all these other things. So I love that you're talking about these things and bringing awareness to it. Um one of the things you talk about is the big swap. What is the big swap?

SPEAKER_00 12:02

Okay, so the big swap, if you can imagine a graph and you've got um two lines. One of them is your health, and one of them is your money. When we are young, we have lots of health, and most of us have less money, right? But as we age and we get into our 30s and 40s, it's common for people to put their health on the back burner and even like take away some of their health by late nights or high stress to accumulate money. What happens in midlife then, um, when you're at your peak earning years, is that your health is deteriorated. So they swap. So you had good health and not much money, but then as time goes on, they swap and you have plenty of money, but your health has gone into bankruptcy. And so that big swap is the status quo. That's what happens if you don't pay attention to what you're doing. So if you can just put a little intentionality behind it and be strategic with your health, like you're strategic with your money and wealth accumulation, um, then you don't have to experience that big swap. You can actually kind of pull up on the rudder of your health and keep it more steady. So there's more there left for you to spend your money on things that are enjoyable for you.

SPEAKER_01 13:19

Definitely, definitely. Well, that's you know, something I think that we should all pay attention to because, you know, it it's easy, especially if you have a young child at home and a business and you know, and activities that it it's easy to put your health last. You know, we we've talked a lot on the show about, you know, making sure that you're saving first. This is another thing, is you're not saving money, you're saving your future health. And you know, that gets back to risk management as well, is that you're sort of buying insurance. This is another type of long-term care insurance is by taking care of yourself. Um, so you have avoid some long-term care incidents. You know, it it's not a hedge against every risk of aging, but it does help.

SPEAKER_00 14:11

Yeah, in fact, if you uh talking about risk, it's really important because I was working with a client and he's he's grown his wealth, he's worked in finance, he's bought and sold several businesses and monetarily doing very well. But when I asked him to show me how he gets out of a chair, he has to use his hands to get himself out of a chair. And when he sits in the chair, he plops into the chair quickly, like kind of a slow plop into a chair. And that means that his body is not strong and that his fall risk is high, right? So you've got all this money, but you've got a risk here of a fall. And a fall is it can be detrimental. Like if you get into over age 65, you fall. Um, about half of the people that fall end up ambulating down one level. So that means they used to walk normally and now they walk with a cane. Or if they walked with a cane, now they walk with a walker. Or if they walk with a walker, now they're in a wheelchair. So it takes them down an ambulation stage. And um, even there are some stats that say within a year, about 25% of the people who had their first fall will be dead. And so you're just like, okay, we don't want to reduce that risk because this this gentleman likes to travel the world, has a second home in another country. And you're just like, that changes retirement drastically if he falls, right? He then is scared to go do things and and and it sets it would set him back so far to recover from it. And the money and time you'd spend on it just changes everything. So yeah, something as simple as can you get out of a chair? Can you get up off the floor? Are you steady and balanced is risk management for your money?

SPEAKER_01 15:54

Definitely. Well, I gotta tell you, I've been working on making sure I can put on what is it, one shoe, uh you know, while standing on a leg. I think that's the test you were posting about on LinkedIn.

SPEAKER_00 16:05

Yeah, it's called the old man test. I don't know why, but can you put your sock and your shoe on without touching your foot down?

SPEAKER_01 16:13

Yeah. It it it can be challenging.

SPEAKER_00 16:17

Um, for sure.

SPEAKER_01 16:19

But it is a so for people watching and listening, is you know, it's something to try at home. You know, can you what is it stand on one leg and put on your shoe and sock?

SPEAKER_00 16:29

Yeah, and that's more advanced. Like, first of all, can you stand on one leg for at least two minutes? Like that's where to start. If you can only do it, yeah, if you can only do it for 15 seconds, work up to a minute, and then like the rock stars are at two minutes. Yeah, that's really good. You're really solid and stable. Um, my clients, when they start practicing it, they get to a minute pretty quick. So somewhere between a minute and two minutes, you're good, right? Um, then start practicing getting down on the floor and back up from the floor with as few supports with your hands as needed as you can. And the number of supports you need is directly correlated with your fall risk and your longevity. And then once you feel pretty good about those, maybe try the old man test, putting your shoe and your sock on. Um, because that is more advanced, definitely.

SPEAKER_01 17:14

Oh, okay. So I skipped, I I skipped to the pro step then.

SPEAKER_00 17:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:20

You did. Well, I saw the picture on LinkedIn of you and your family all doing it. So I gotta try that.

SPEAKER_00 17:28

Right.

SPEAKER_01 17:30

So the next question is what is the four-step hierarchy of wealth?

SPEAKER_00 17:37

So it's basically at its basic level, it's a decision framework. So it helps you decide what you should be doing at that moment. I will tell you that so many people start at the wrong place. They're like, okay, Steven, uh, she's saying that I need to be strong and sturdy and I need to do all these things. I'm gonna start exercising, go to the gym. I'm gonna start running. I can't tell you how many times I hear that. Like it's I know I need to get out for a run. Actually, no, you don't. Not really. You don't have to go out for a run. Um, what do you need to do though is what this framework is. It's the hierarchy of wealth and it's four steps, and they're four M's. And it starts at the bottom. What you do first is the mindset. Mind. What are you doing? Like that uh assets and liability that we talked about earlier. That's mindset, right? Do I know what I'm even trying to do and what my status is? Getting your labs done, making sure you've got the space on your calendar to get it done. So that's all about mindset. Number two is second mend is second M is mend. So how are you doing with your sleep, your stress, and your recovery? And a lot of that can just be how you feel, but it's much more um transparent to get a wearable like an aura ring or a whoop or a garment or something so we can see what your nervous system is doing on the inside and how well your sleep is going. And then the next step is mend or sorry, meals, which is like, are you getting enough balanced nutrition, enough protein, enough fiber, uh, right amounts of fats and carbohydrates? Are you, you know, missing at something somewhere to give you the fuel to do the last level, which is move. And movement is is good for you. It's an investment in your future, but it's not always the best first step. So first you're like, what am I doing and why am I doing it? And then you're like, oh, I need to go exercise. I need to get up earlier and go exercise. It's like, well, that you can, but is your sleep good? So try to get your sleep good first. That's the order of operations. And then make sure you've got the nutrition to fuel that workout. Then your the workout, when you're well rested and well fueled, will go much better and you won't get injured or burned out. So that's what the hierarchy of wealth is. I have a client, he's like, Stephen, I need to lose weight. And I'm like, he goes, I'm gonna run three miles today. I'm like, don't forget, you have to go back two levels and make sure you're getting the good sleep. He's like, Oh yeah, right, because we're so conditioned to think that we just need to work harder, but sometimes we need to recover harder. We need to recover from the stress of our business building, and that's the hierarchy.

SPEAKER_01 20:12

I I love that rather than work harder because I think that's also something as we get older too, is that Willie's track, like you said, is go out and run three miles. Well, it's not quite as easy when you're 50 years old to all of a sudden start running you know three miles like when you were 18. Yeah, it just your body just doesn't work that way. You do change. And so I love that you're saying is that you know, you have this framework and you have to be realistic in what you're doing. And it you can't just jump to a one-hour intense cardio workout if you haven't been working out for a while.

SPEAKER_00 20:52

It's just and not only can't not only can't you can't do it, but you shouldn't do it because your body, it's all if you do that without your body being ready for it, it's going to create more stress and more damage. It's actually going to tear your body down versus enhance your body. So, first things first is you have to get good sleep. Get to bed at a decent hour, make sure that you've got the blue lights out, make sure it's cool in your room, whatever, all the things, get a good night's sleep. Then maybe you can go for a walk or lift some weights. I have a client and she's like cardio queen, right? She was like out there doing all the cardio, the running, the rowing, the cycling, and she was exhausted, her cortisol was high, she could not lose weight. And I just pulled her back off of that, just pulled her back and like let's let's just stop that for a little bit. Let's start adding a little bit of strength training, not too aggressive, and start walking just a little bit, right? And the weight started just coming down off, and we just we just made her body not feel so stressed. Peace is part of this process. We talk about finding. Finance is bringing peace of mind for your future. And that's what your body needs for its physiology. It needs to feel protected, peaceful, and not under attack all the time if it's going to behave the way that it should.

SPEAKER_01 22:14

I I love that because uh, you know, it's it's a whole different way of looking at it. And it does directly relate to money. It's like you don't go into advanced investing before you've just put some money into a savings account. Yes. And we do know that people j who jump into advanced trading strategies do end up with negative, usually negative uh consequences, uh, you know, and they haven't started slowly and built into it. And so it's like that with anything. And you know, for people who've recovered from heart attacks, you know, they've heard that from their doctors is you know, start slowly, you know, take a slow walk, you know, eat nutritious meals, you know, don't do everything at once.

SPEAKER_00 23:02

Yeah, I think we can see our health improves significantly just with getting an extra hour of good sleep and um paying a little bit more attention to what's on the end of our fork. In fact, I had a client, he, if we're just talking about from a weight loss perspective, he lost 50 pounds and never exercised because he just wasn't ready for that yet emotionally. But there's so much that you can do with sleep and the end of your fork. And they're different buckets of health. You can kind of think of those four levels as the different buckets you might put your money in, right? Like an emergency fund and your college fund or your R IRA or you know, 401k, whatever. Like you want to have money in different areas. And so many people just put so much emphasis into the exercise piece that if you do that, it might work when you're young, but when you get to be 50, 60, 70, that that equation doesn't work anymore. So we have to start preparing for what our bodies are going to need when we're older and how to keep that equation balanced. And again, it all comes back to Tony, your point. How does this affect my money? Well, if you injure yourself or you have a heart attack, sometimes people have to actually exit their businesses early or retire early because and then they've lost all those earning years. It's like your health can make you make decisions that you're not ready to make yet, right? So health is almost a ticket to freedom for more decisions and more options in your future.

SPEAKER_01 24:29

I I I love that. And, you know, and um for people watching and listening, they've heard me talk a lot about disability insurance and the need for disability insurance because these things can happen. Um, you know, I mean, that's the whole point of insurance, you know, protecting against unforeseen events. And, you know, even if you're doing all these things and you're incredibly healthy, is you can still have a health event. And, you know, you think about it and you think about professional athletes, professional athletes get injured all the time, and they have the best trainers and the nutritionists and everything else, and they're taking, you know, their bodies are their biggest assets, and yes, they still get injured.

SPEAKER_00 25:15

Mm-hmm. Yeah, and what I think is funny, Tony, is that um if you think of a financial professional in your life, like they're helping you strategize your your journey, right? Let's look at all the potential risks that might be out there, let's fortify in these specific areas. And um they're they're they're a thinking partner for you. Like, what might be hiding under the bed that we don't want to scare us later? And that's what we need to do for our health too. Like we can't predict everything that's gonna happen, but we can be ready for a lot. And that's that's kind of my role is to say, hey, what are all the pieces and parts here? And how do we make this so it's in your best interest, not just today, but 30 years from now, that things are still working for you. You know, it it's such similar mindsets of how we think about this the small compounding actions and how they add up to big deals later, but then also the the length of the thought. A lot of people think of health as short term. You know, I need to go to the gym or I need to lose five pounds or whatever. And if we can think of it long term, it's that second rail of your journey. So your destination is in the future. You're headed somewhere and you're building that rail of money. The other rail for that train is the health. They're the same, they're the two sides of the same coin. Without one or the other, you're gonna be derailed along your journey. And so it's just prudent to take care of that and make sure that you're you're paying attention to this silent partner in your journey, which is your health.

SPEAKER_01 26:56

Yeah, I I'm reminded of a John Wooden quote um about little things leading to big things. And, you know, uh basically it's the little things and make the big things happen that if you're not taking care of the little things, the big things are just not going to happen. Right. Um, so you know, to start to close out, how can financial planners and all of us start to have conversations about our health and how it factors into our planning or, you know, just even conversations with ourselves or loved ones?

SPEAKER_00 27:30

Yeah. So um I think a good place is just hey, uh, let's talk about risks, things that might pop up that we aren't sure. Because I will tell you that most people, when they have a health event, it's always a surprise. It's always a surprise. They're like, where did I come out of nowhere? I had no idea. Um, and so you'd think that we'd kind of get the idea that there's there's the potential for health surprises, but it just still always catches us off guard, like you and I were talking about earlier, right? Being prepared when it actually happens, what do I do? And so a good place to start is let's look at your money through the lens of health. Are there any risks there? Talk about longevity risk, um, a sequencing risk, like what happens if you get sick early? Is that going to change when you retire or when you're gonna start drawing from Social Security or whatever those things might be? Um, and um an inflation risk. Like, how does your health impact all of these decisions? And just not that you have to have the answers, but it's just good to bring up the questions, have the conversation. And you don't need to be a health expert to say, how does your metabolic health impact your future? And metabolic health meaning how well your body uses and stores energy, right? Does your energy impact your money? Does how you feel? Does your weight maintenance management like you can just start asking some questions and say, um, does cognitive decline change how your money is going to be used? Does your your mobility, if you lose any mobility, does that change anything with your money? And you don't necessarily need to tell them answers. It's just like, hey, I'm here to bring up all the different perspectives. Um, what does a you could even ask questions like, what does a retirement look like for you physically? Like what do you see yourself doing? I have clients that are out uh hiking across the world, doing extreme hikes. Um, and and maybe they don't see themselves doing that. Maybe they see themselves um sitting on a sailboat somewhere and just watching the world go by. But but physically, what does your body need to be able to do? Um, what matters most, like activities? Do you want to still be able to play basketball? Do you want to be able to run around with your grandkids or get on the floor? And if your health declined, what would that change about your money? Where would we need to re- or divert some money to change and go in different directions? So to me, it's just more like um asking some really good questions and letting them answer or at least think about these things. And that adds value just in itself.

SPEAKER_01 30:07

Yeah, I love that. And I think this is so important because sometimes health conditions cause your clients to have to retire early or to get back on the work. So it's, you know, these are really important things that should be factored into a real financial plan. Um, so Stephen, to wrap up, I have what are called the get ready hot take trio. These are three quick questions I ask all of my guests. The first one is what's one myth you're trying to break about money and health?

SPEAKER_00 30:38

So people think that health is separate from money, and health is all about discipline. And I push back on that and say, um health is is you can't separate health and money. They are interlinked so closely that they affect each other deeply. And your health is more impacted by automation and strategy than it is by discipline, just like with your money. If you can automate these things for growing wealth, so much easier than remembering to move money or save money every single month. And it's the same with health. So just automate it, have strategy, and know that your health impacts your finances.

SPEAKER_01 31:26

Yeah, and as you point out, just the the basic thing is if you are unhealthy or sick, it does cost money to take care of these health events. So you are, in essence, saving money by taking care of your health.

SPEAKER_00 31:42

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 31:43

Yeah, plus all the other benefits that we all know. So, Stephen, let's get out the time machine for a minute. If you could go back in time, knowing what you know now about money and health, what advice would you give your younger self?

SPEAKER_00 31:57

I would say um protect my energy. Energy is finite, right? It is not something that's unlimited. It is finite. I would say protect your energy as if it were money. Really, don't just don't give it away. I stayed up all night. I guess I would go to bed. I was a night owl, I would stay up all night and work on projects and take care of clients or do things and didn't realize that I was giving my own health away by doing that. So I would also say, Steven, build your strength earlier. Start weight training, strength training as early as possible because that is your independence when you get older. So you have to have that in place. It's very easy to gain strength when you're young. It's very hard to gain strength when you get older. Um, and just generally sleep more. Just sleep more. Stop staying up all night. I don't care if I think I'm a night owl, change behavior because my body does need sleep.

SPEAKER_01 32:54

Yeah, that that is so important. Um so, Steven, to wrap up, what is your number one tip to change the way we think about money and health?

SPEAKER_00 33:04

So, first of all, I think I've said it probably three times. Um, your health is an asset and it affects your other assets. If you can leave this conversation with that tip and start understanding that they are not two silos, they are part of the same journey. Your health is an asset all by itself, but it also affects your other assets. And I think it's Tony Robbins that says a well person has a thousand wishes and a sick person only one. So don't take it for granted. Make sure that you understand the true asset that your health is today.

SPEAKER_01 33:46

Yeah. And I think, you know, when we talk to, you know, in our own lives, is, you know, if somebody's much older and they're listening to this, they already know this. But when you think about this, you know, maybe talk to your parents or your age aging loved ones about these issues, and you'll definitely get a pretty clear picture that those who aren't healthy will very make will almost always say, I wish I had made better choices when I was younger. So nobody says, I wish I'd worked longer hours.

SPEAKER_00 34:19

Well, you want I always tell people, think about 88-year-old you, right? What do you want? Do you want the regret knowing that you should have done something when you knew you should have done it? Or do you want that kind of silent pride in yourself? Like, hey, you did it. You did a good job. You did the things you know you needed to do to be ready for this stage. And now you're independent and you're you're not dependent on other people to take care of you as much as the norm. So, yeah, I think that that's great advice. It's just try not to end this journey with regrets, right? Take the action today. Today's the youngest you're going to be. It's not going to get any easier tomorrow than it is right now, today. So do the minute and a half wall squat back here every day. Just put your wall against a back against the wall and do a wall squat. Go for a 15-minute walk after lunch. Go to bed a little bit earlier. Everyone talks about, oh, you need to get up earlier so you can get your exercise in. Maybe, but you have to go to bed earlier if you're going to get up earlier. So don't forget that other piece of it and just start today, like you would with investing or getting your insurance or saving, right? Start today.

SPEAKER_01 35:34

Today is always the best day to start. So, Steven, where can people learn more about you? Grow wealthy, and pick up a copy of your book, Grow Wealthy.

SPEAKER_00 35:45

Yes. So if they want a copy of my book, uh Grow Wealthy, go to growwealthybook.com and you can get the ebook delivered to your inbox, or you can get a hard copy right there. So growwealthybook.com. And um if you want to follow me, go on to LinkedIn and hit follow. I post on there often. You can DM me if you have specific questions. But the whole plan is inside the book. Like all the stuff I talked about, the four levels of the framework, they're all in here. So you don't even have to work with me. Like you can just get all the stuff right here and get started on your journey. Um, but if you do want to have a consultation or find out more about working together, then go to growwealthy.com and schedule a discovery call. Um, bring your labs with you if you have them, and we'll have a great conversation. You'll learn a lot. Even if we don't work together, I guarantee you we'll make some aha's and give you some good options to move forward.

SPEAKER_01 36:39

Awesome, awesome. And for everybody watching, listening, as always, there will be links to Steven's website and LinkedIn profile in the show notes. So if you have access to the show notes, that's where you'll find all the links. Steven, thanks for joining us again on Get Ready Before Life Happens.

SPEAKER_00 36:56

Thanks, Tony. Always a pleasure.

SPEAKER_01 36:58

Yeah, and thank you everyone, as always, for tuning in. If today you learned something to change the way you think about money and health, please be sure to like the video, subscribe, and to share with a friend. You can also go to my website at TonyStewer.com to join the Get Ready Movement and receive my newsletter and access to a whole bunch of resources. Until next time, let's change the way we think about money.