Quoted from my first Blog one year ago:
“My goal is to share my thoughts, what I have learned to help you shortcut your quest towards better health. I want to be clear…by no means am I perfect, however my goal is to continue to improve my Health so I can lead (and help you lead) a long, healthy and happy Life.
In short, I want to share what I did personally to get my Blood tests in order and improve my health in the hopes that it may help you.
You have been selected to participate in this Blog and I truly hope you enjoy it and will be coming to you in a few months to get your feedback. Please feel free to pass this on to family, friends or anyone else you think may benefit by this blog.
Yours in good health, Kev”
It is hard to believe but my first blog went out one year ago the first week of February. Since then I have published 49 different Health blogs.
What started purely as a way to share my personal health journey with people close to me, has had a huge impact on me. I am constantly blown away by the number of people that actually read and comment on my blog on a weekly basis. It seems that every day people I run into comment on my blog. I hear things such as “I had my shake this morning”, I loved your blog on the 80% rule, I followed your morning routine today and had my lemon water”.
Josh Hagan from OneMotion (onemotion.ca) was the person that helped me put the blog together so I am very grateful to him and his associate Peter Carr who help me get it out every week. They share my Blog stats with me and they are overwhelmed by the number of people that read the blog weekly and also the amount of time people actually spend on the sight as it is significantly above the averages.
I also am very grateful as I think in some small way I am having an impact out there on the world and actually helping people with health. What started as a blog to a small select group of personal friends has now grown to over 1,100 weekly readers purely by word of mouth or people sharing with others.
I have learned a ton by doing this blog over the past year and I wanted to share my 6 learnings with you.
1.People genuinely care about their health
I have witnessed that people do genuinely care about their health and what they can do to improve it. Does that mean that people are paying attention to it and doing the right things 100% of the time? I have found that many people are like me and are trying to do the best they can on a daily basis while still “living” life. One of our highest traffic blogs was based on my 80% rule meaning that you try to do your best and lead a healthy life 80% of the time but don’t let it control your life. If you missed that blog as it was an early one here it is:
http://kevinbradyhealth.ca/the-80-rule-towards-balanced-health/
2.The Importance Of Having Courage – Pull The Trigger
I had talked about and had been writing a blog for months before I finally had the courage to pull the trigger and start publishing my blog. I currently have over 50 blogs I have written and are in storage however it was my daughter Lauren that convinced me to publish it. Every week I was sharing with Lauren and my family my blog stories and they seemed genuinely interested. One week when I was talking about it, Lauren asked me how my “Diary” was going? She let me know that basically I was writing a Diary as the only one that ever saw it was me. It is amazing what we can learn from our children but it was Lauren who actually gave me the courage to step out and publish my blog. A huge shout out to Lauren!
3.It has Upped My Game from a health perspective
By writing my health blog every week, it has upped my game from a health perspective. For my regular readers, you will likely recall my blog on the importance of measuring your progress in order to actually make progress. With me writing about health weekly it has forced me to ensure I am “Walking the Talk” as much as possible and leading by example. It would not be genuine for me to write a blog about health and fitness and not personally follow it.
4.The Blog has opened New Paths
My blog and focus on health has lead to new doors and paths that I totally did not imagine one year ago. I am now being asked to speak to different groups on the topic of Health and Wellness on a regular basis. I have also been asked to be a guest on multiple Podcasts on the topic of Heath. I now seem to be having a much bigger impact on the Health of people as we are now educating companies on how they can achieve a healthier workplace and healthier employees. So now we are having a much bigger impact on peoples health by helping multiple companies and thousands of employees improve their health. This is very gratifying to me that we are helping so so many people.
5.I Notice Health and Nature All Around Us
Another learning for me is how much I pay attention to health and the amazing world around us. I believe I have a much keener appreciation for nature and what this amazing life offers us. I know it sounds corny but I notice little things I never paid much attention to before. The sun rising, the sky, the birds around us, blades of grass and all aspects of nature. We are so so lucky to live in this amazing world and I think most of us are so busy we rush through life and don’t take the time to notice our world and all it has to offer. I know I am much more in tune with nature and the beauty of the world today than I was a year ago. As I outlined in one of my previous blogs,
Enjoy the Journey and every moment of life as life is fleeting.
http://kevinbradyhealth.ca/enjoy-the-journey/6.The Health Movement Is On
I am not sure if you have noticed, but there is a huge movement happening in Canada towards better health. Everywhere you look, there are new health options all around us to help us achieve better health. When I first started my own journey towards better health a few years ago, I felt like I had to hide it and almost be ashamed for how I was living. I would go to restaurants and sheepishly ask for plant based, vegan or non dairy options and most restaurants had a tough time coming up with solutions. Almost every restaurant I visit today has some sort of Vegan or Vegetarian option on their menu. I have also noticed the amazing surge in restaurants and food stores that specialize in healthy options. A perfect example is Freshi which has had worldwide exponential growth due to their founder Matthew Corrin driving that business model even when others did not feel that a market for healthier food options even existed.
All around us, I sense a real change in peoples attitudes towards better health. An example of this is a few years ago it was difficult to find much in the way of Organic foods in a grocery store. Today not only do we find Organic sections of stores but they are expanding as we speak.
As I write this, Barb and I are on our way out west skiing and I even noticed this in the Airport today. As we walked the long hall towards our gate at Pearson, I took note of all the healthy options and health restaruants that were available. I must say I am so pleased that this is the way things are moving as we are all going to benefit from a much healthier world.
Thank You
I want to really thank you for all of your amazing input and comments on my blog. Every week I receive a bunch of emails commenting on my blog which I love receiving. I also appreciate all the personal comments I receive on a daily basis as I run into people around town and through business. A sincere thank you.
I also want to thank my amazing family on this journey. They have encouraged me since day 1 and I must say have had an major influence on me from a health and fitness perspective. Many of our family discussions and sharing revolve around health and I am so fortunate to have such a great, supportive and loving family. A huge thanks to Barb(as we celebrate Valentines day) as I am sure she is sick of hearing about me talking about and doing my blog weekly.
Have an Amazing, Healthy and Love Life Week, Kev
6 comments
Congrats Kevin, I have shared your blogs with many of my friends. Your posts are always a bright spot when they arrive in my mailbox. Always filled with real life learnings I can use right now. And If your ears are burning every now and then it’s because me and others are thinking “what would Kevin do” when faced with decisions about improving our health. And that is a good thing.
Great post Kevin. Very inspiring!
Good lessons, Kev. Keep up the good work!
Congratulations on your first year Kevin!
Thanks Monica. Hope you are doing well
Kev
Hi Kevin. Congratulations on a year of wonderful work. I am sure that everyone who reads your blog enjoyed it as much as I do. Love, Marge