Do you floss? Smoke? What do you drive? When was the last time you went to church? Are you married? Are your parents married? What kind of pets do you have? Do you eat breakfast? When was the last time you broke a sweat? How many cheeseburgers did you eat last week?
Pardon the personal questions, I’m just trying to figure out how old you are. Not your calendar age, that’s pretty easy to calculate. Not your subjective age, how old you think you are (that’s probably off by a good 20%). And not your perceived age, how old other people think you are (which can be a predictor of your mortality).
These prying questions measure your biological age, “how old your body is based on lifestyle, medical history, and genetics.” Visit www.realage.com and you can find out how 125 different aspects of your health, habits, relationships, diet and fitness influence your rate of aging. This free, scientifically accepted test takes about ten minutes – and it just might just scare another year or two off your life.
If there was a similar test for your business, what kinds of questions would it ask?
Does Ms. Jones like you? How do you know? Do you look at your storefront like a customer? When was the last time it saw a fresh coat of paint? How much cash can you get your hands on? When was the last time you took your banker to lunch? Your lawyer? Your pastor? How old is your oldest employee? The youngest? How do they think you’re doing? How old is your computer system? Can you still read your truck skins? How old is your oldest piece of inventory?
Are you going to live a long, productive life? Or are you sucking wind, gasping through another week? What is in your control that you can change to add another year of health to your company? A family history or cancer is outside your control, but you can choose to stop smoking. A recession is outside your control. But do you have any bad habits that are costing you your life?