Three weeks ago, my mentor Mark Ford suffered two small strokes.
His stubbornness and not wanting to go to the hospital could have killed him.
Thank goodness for his wife forcing him to go.
He wrote about it here.
My father showed the same stubbornness in March, 2007.
My mother found him on the verge of death on the farm… she literally dragged him to the hospital… pulling him out of his pick-up truck and driving him to the ER.
Her actions bought him another 18 months of life…
During which he and I spent many summer afternoons driving around the countryside drinking drive-in milkshakes and “looking at the corn”.
“Corn stalks are short here,” he’d say. “We need rain.”
Our conversations weren’t deep, but those drives were priceless.
I hope Mark Ford’s wife has bought another decade of time for their sons and grandchildren.
My father’s health troubles came as no surprise… he was an alcoholic and probably averaged 12 beers a day for 30 years. You read that right. I know... it’s hard to imagine.
But my mentor Mark Ford is in phenomenal shape…
He’s strong, exercises daily, is a world-class Ju-Jitsu fighter in his age group, and doesn’t have any money struggles.
Yet it turns out, his total cholesterol levels were high — likely contributing to his left carotid artery’s 90% occlusion. He needed surgery to clean out the plaque.
Mark, who grew up dirt-poor on Long Island, built a networth of close to $100 million… he’s an expert in fine wine and art… he’s tried to retire three times but his love for the game of business brought him back every time.
“I look at this as a lucky break,” he said. “A second chance. We all know that there are things in life more important than wealth and accomplishment.”
And Mark is right.
His unexpected scrape with death serves as an important reminder to never take our health for granted. Even if you think you’re doing everything right.
You must take health protection as seriously as empire building and wealth protection… so that nasty surprises don’t sneak up on you.
Early detection of medical issues saves thousands of lives each year.
But millions could be saved if people monitored their health more consistently.
I don't want you to become an unlucky statistic.
Listen, I get it...
We ALL tend put these things off.
When I was younger I picked up a few memorable sunburns… which left me paranoid about skin cancer.
But for years I kept putting off a trip to a dermatologist.
Finally, a couple weeks ago I made an appointment and the Doc said everything looks fine.
I’ve also had two colonoscopies (colon cancer is what killed my father) and I’ve lined up a sleep test in October to see if I can improve this critical area of my health (my mom has sleep apnea).
Some of my clients have found value in the (expensive) Health Nucleus testing — a $25K program based out of San Diego…
My friend and financial newsletter author Jeff Brown even wrote about how this program made an early detection of his prostate cancer… which was successfully treated.
But not all testing is super expensive. Depending on your location and health plan, a lot of it’s free.
For example, my friend Chris Larsen shared another “early detection cancer screening company” called Grail.
One of the voices I follow on Twitter, Mike Cernovich, suggests having the blood panel below done every 6 months… (I average every 9 months).
My friend and former Early to Rise Radio podcast guest, Ed Mylett has been very open about his heart health journey…
Recently, Ed brought in his heart health specialist, Dr. Amy Doneen, for an incredibly eye-opening interview on his podcast. If you’re interested in keeping your ticker healthy, you can listen to the episode here.
In her book, Healthy Heart, Healthy Brain, Dr. Doneen also lists a number of safe, highly accurate tests that can detect risk for heart or arterial disease BEFORE symptoms appear.
One of the most widely available of these tests is the carotid intima-media thickness or “cIMT” ultrasound scan.
Of course, I am not a physician and none of this is medical advice.
These are just a few things to talk about with your doctor so you can stay proactive with your health…
...And keep living a life of freedom and success.
Because I know you have many more chapters to write.
Success Loves Speed,
Craig
