Your Body At Its Best Ch 7

Just as it is true that a sick nation is doomed to defeat, so it is equally true that a human being whose body is sluggish and unfit cannot possibly achieve the full measure of success of which he is capable. This physical fact of life I know to be true from my own bitter experience during the grueling days of the terrible depression in the early 1930's. I had arrived in Toledo, Ohio, in September of 1931 - shortly after the four leading banks in the city had been forced to discontinue business - to be general agent for northwestern Ohio for The New England Mutual Life Insurance Company of Boston.   Like the proverbial fool who didn't know it couldn't be done, I tackled my job of getting new agents with determination and unlimited enthusiasm. I went into well-nigh every retail store in town observing and seeking men who had the ability to sell. When I found such a person I offered him, free and without obligation of any kind, a five-day evening school to learn about life insurance - what it is and what it will do. I told him that upon completion of the school, if he were interested, I would explain in detail the opportunities in life insurance selling, and the arrangements for further training while selling on a part-time basis until able to enter on a full-time career basis.

I had many recruits. I worked six days and nights a week with unusually good results - during the most difficult period in our economic history.

This went on through the fall of 1931 and all of 1932, and my agency finished the latter year with an outstanding production record, despite the fact that 1932 was the low year in the great depression.

In the spring of 1933, however, I was beginning to lose my grip on things. For a year and a half I had completely neglected my health, and my body was beginning to sputter badly.

For many years before moving to Toledo I had been extremely regular in my health program - well-balanced diet, adequate rest, home calisthenics, brisk walks, regular swimming at the Athletic Club, and occasional golf. I was in excellent condition - able to qualify for $400,000 of life insurance in one of the oldest and finest companies in America.

Now, suddenly, after a year and a half of high-tension work, day and night, I woke up to the fact that my health was slipping badly. My old zip was gone, I was nervous and fidgety. My nights were restless and filled with worry. I was unable to relax. I ate my meals fast. When I got home late in the evening I would sit and brood, unfit company for anyone.

Gradually I let up on my search for new agents, and my evening schools began to fade out. I spent hours just sitting in my office. I began to eat too much. I became sluggish. I dragged myself around by sheer willpower. My body became a burden to my mind and spirit, while all the years before it had been the instrument of all that I was, physically, mentally and spiritually.

Then one evening at home I happened to read again those challenging words from Robert Browning's immortal "Rabbi Ben Ezra:"

"To men prepare this test: Thy body at its best How far can that project thy soul On its lonely way?"
 
For the first time these words had a vital meaning. They struck me hard and deep. I dropped my book and sat thinking for a long, long time. Then I went out into the beautiful moonlight night, walked long and briskly, thought deep and hard, and prayed as I had not prayed for a long, long time.

And finally I knew the answer - it was to be my body at its best. Surely then all other problems would easily be solved.

Next day I saw my doctor, and after giving me a thorough examination, he said: "There's nothing wrong with you that common-sense living can't cure." The doctor gave me a good shot of something to pep me up, prescribed a sensible diet, gave me three pills for relaxation with instructions to take one each night at bedtime, commanded me to do my home calisthenics every morning as I had done for so many years, to walk briskly for half an hour every evening after dinner, and to get eight hours of rest every night. And then the wise old doctor added significantly: "And don't forget to pray. It's good for the body, too."

• Your Body At It's Best - Ch 1
• Your Body At It's Best - Ch 2
• Your Body At It's Best - Ch 3
• Your Body At It's Best - Ch 4
• Your Body At It's Best - Ch 5
• Your Body At It's Best - Ch 6
• Your Body At It's Best - Ch 8