Why Your Health is Your Most Important Business Asset (And How a Mentor's Passing Changed Everything)

Published September 3, 2025 • Based on Founder Reality Episode 12

Today I want to share something that most entrepreneurs don't talk about enough: our mortality, our health, and what it actually takes to build sustainable businesses without burning out our bodies in the process.

This isn't going to be another productivity hack or biohacking thread. This is about facing a reality that most of us spend our twenties and thirties actively avoiding.

The Email That Changed Everything

About a year ago, I was sitting in a bank waiting for my advisor when I got an email that completely shattered my world.

My mentor Rob, someone who had guided me for over four years, had passed away unexpectedly due to health complications. He was in his early sixties. Not old.

Two weeks before he passed, he told me he was going on a trip and we'd reconnect when he got back to discuss my business progress. That call never happened.

I remember sitting in that bank, my brain completely shut down. I couldn't process what I was reading.

After the initial shock and a few weeks have passed, I started reflecting.

Here was someone building meaningful businesses, with long-term vision, gone without warning. Everything he was working on, gone.

All the knowledge, the relationships, the projects in progress, vanished in an instant.

That email forced me to confront a question I'd been avoiding:

What if I disappeared tomorrow?

The Founder's Toxic Relationship with Health

Before Rob's passing, I had what I now recognize as the classic entrepreneur's approach to health: it was something for "later."

I was working 10-12 hour days and feeling guilty about taking lunch breaks. I thought breaks were for people who weren't serious about building.

I was eating whatever was convenient to optimize for time, takeout, random snacks, not tracking sugar levels.

My body was just fuel to keep the business machine running.

I worked out occasionally, but it was pure performance theater. I saw friends posting gym selfies on social media, so I figured successful people did this, so I should too.

No real strategy, no consistency, just checking a box.

My entire focus was revenue and future business prospects. Sleep when I wanted, eat whatever, push my body to handle whatever I threw at it.

Sound familiar?

The Wake-Up Call That Actually Worked

When Rob died, I started thinking about the finite nature of everything we're building.

We talk about infinite games and long-term thinking, but we ignore the most finite constraint of all: our own lives.

Then a few months later, someone in my family was diagnosed with late-stage cancer during a routine checkup. Hadn't been checked in years. Doctor said six months to twelve months left.

These weren't theoretical scenarios anymore. They were happening to people I cared about.

I realized: if I don't take care of my body, no one else is going to do it for me. And if I burn out my body, I don't get to finish the work.

What Changed (And What Actually Works)

Here's what I discovered after a year of treating my health like it actually matters:

The Simplicity Breakthrough

The biggest myth I believed was that getting healthy required becoming a fitness expert.

I thought I'd need to track every calorie, master complex workout routines, and basically become a part-time nutritionist.

That's completely false.

I bought one book—"Bigger Leaner Stronger"—and learned that everything I was dreading about fitness was based on misconceptions. The fundamentals are actually simple:

For Food:

• Calculate your maintenance calories (there's a formula online—mine is 2,500)
• Eat less to lose weight, more to gain weight, same to maintain
• Cut sugar as much as possible (this was the game-changer)
• Don't eat until you're stuffed—stay around 7-8 on a scale of 1-10
• Limit takeout to 2-3 times per week max
• Focus on protein

For Working Out:

• 5-6 times per week, 40-45 minutes
• Push day, pull day, full body rotation
• Use AI to create workout variations so you don't get bored
• Non-negotiable scheduling—if my day gets busy, I move things around

For Sleep:

• 7-8 hours minimum
• Track it if possible (Apple Watch helps me understand deep sleep patterns)
• When I get less than 6.5 hours, my brain literally doesn't function

The AI Advantage

Here's something most founders are missing: ChatGPT and Claude have made personalized fitness planning incredibly easy.

I use AI to create multiple workout variations for each day type. Instead of doing the same pull workout every time, I have pull alternative 1, pull alternative 2, full body alternative 1, etc.

No more running out of workout ideas or getting bored with routines.

The Business Case for Health

After a year of treating my health as non-negotiable, here's what I've noticed:

1. Better decision-making: When I'm physically healthy, I think more clearly and make better business decisions
2. Sustained energy: I still have energy after work for everything else that matters
3. Mental replacement: Working out has replaced meditation for me—my mind gets quiet for the entire day after a good workout
4. Compound effects: Being healthier makes me better at almost everything else

The crazy part? I'm not perfect. I still eat pizza sometimes, still work late occasionally, still ignore my body for a day or two. But now I'm paying attention. I'm treating my body like it matters for the long-term vision, not just the next deadline.

The Question You Need to Ask

If your friend came to you and said: "I'm really stressed about my business.

I haven't been sleeping well, I'm working 12 hours a day, everything else is falling apart, and I'm afraid my business will fail", what would you tell them?

Now think about what you tell yourself when you're in that exact situation.

For years, I would have told myself to work harder, that building something requires relentless energy.

But how can you have relentless energy when your body isn't keeping up?

The Hard Truth About Mortality

We have this toxic relationship with health as entrepreneurs. We think taking care of ourselves is selfish, weak, or a distraction from "real work."

But if you burn out your body, you don't get to finish the work. If you ignore the warning signs, you might not be around to see your company succeed.

A few months ago, someone in my family got diagnosed with late-stage cancer. The doctor said probably six months left.

This isn't theoretical, it's happening to people we care about, and it could happen to us.

When I think about Rob, I hope he'd be proud that his passing wasn't just sad for me (which it absolutely is), but also a wake-up call that led to real change.

Start Paying Attention

You don't need to become a fitness guru overnight. You don't need a perfect plan. But you do need to start paying attention.

Use AI to create an imperfect plan that you can actually follow. Treat your body like it matters for your long-term vision, not just your next sprint.

If you're treating your body like it's invincible, like health can wait, I get it. I was there. But look at what we're actually building. Look at where we want to be in 30 years.

Your health is the most important asset you have, not just for your life, but for the people around you who depend on you finishing what you started.

Struggling with founder burnout or ignoring your health "until later"? Email me at george@founderreality.com - I read every message and I've been exactly where you are.

New episodes of Founder Reality drop Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 9am EST. Subscribe wherever you get podcasts, or visit founderreality.com

Daily thoughts: @TheGeorgePu on Twitter/X

George Pu is the founder of SimpleDirect and ANC, building AI-powered businesses in Toronto. He shares unfiltered founder insights on the Founder Reality podcast and @TheGeorgePu on Twitter.