The Architecture of Your Life
How your hands can guide you powerfully in life decisions.
Three Life Threads Woven Together
Man is not destroyed by suffering; he is destroyed by suffering without meaning.
Viktor Frankl
As I wrote about Life, I have come to see life woven together from three threads:
Health
Wealth
Meaning
Health sustains us. It is our vehicle into the world.
Wealth drives us. It is the fuel to move throughout the world.
Meaning enlivens our spirit with purpose and inner drive.
Health can be measured by blood tests and exams.
Wealth can be counted in assets and valuations
Meaning resists measurement. It resides deep within you.
Meaning is immeasurable, unbounded and yet its absence is unmistakable.
Without meaning, health is life without a spirit.
Without meaning, wealth just becomes accumulation.
Without meaning, life is meaningless and being swayed by life’s storms.
Meaning is not a thought, it is the energy of your spirit, that must be honed as a discipline.
The Intelligence of the Body
The body is wiser than we are.
D.H. Lawrence
I am writing this at the end of another three-day fast.
When I discovered I had severe plaque in my heart arteries, it was shocking. I knew intuitively right away that I must adapt my diet to stop the progression of my disease. But I also felt that fasting and modifying my exercise would also be highly complementary to my diet. So I have fasted one day weekly and 2-3 days monthly. After doing this for six months, I’ve now decided to move my 3-day fast to quarterly and continue my OMAD (one meal a day) weekly.
The first day of the fast is habit breaking.
The second day is mentally hard to do but mental clarity starts.
The third day is physical weakness but strong mental clarity for me now.
When glucose is depleted, the body performs an ancient survival strategy. It turns inwards and starts converting fats into ketones, small fat molecules that can power all the healthy cells of the body. The cancerous cells which can only metabolize glucose suffer and the immune system starts to recycle the weakest cells and organelles like defective or old mitochondria. This is called autophagy, which means self-eating but really it is self-repair and optimization to survive a period of starvation. Growth hormone increases to preserve muscle so one can still be active. After five days, stem cells are activated.
The body preserves what is essential and eliminates what is weak and unnecessary. Diseased or weak cells.
The brain and heart uses ketones and the pathways are changed. The energy is efficient. Seizures cease after four days. This is the basis for the ketogenic diet for people with seizures. It is also the basis to weaken cancer cells.
If the body must eliminate to live, what must the soul eliminate to mean?
Forty Days of Elimination
Man shall not live by bread alone.
Matthew 4:4
As Moses went up Mount Sinai to receive the law, The Ten Commandments, he fasted for forty days and nights. He did this three times. The second time to receive the new set of Laws written on tablets of stone and also once more to pray on behalf of his nation that had broken one of the laws.
Elijah, one of the prophets also fasted for forty days when the King and Queen sought to kill him. This too at Mount Sinai, also called Horeb.
Jesus also fasted forty days in the wilderness before beginning His ministry.
Gandhi fasted 21 days in protest three times, each time having to stop his fast due to losing too much weight.
I struggle with just three days. And yet on the second and third day, hunger disappears, I no longer feel attached or dependent on food as my mind seeks to survive. Clarity fills me. Ideas, thoughts and emotions surface that were long dormant or buried.
I started to think deeply about my hands, my body, and numbers and I wrote a book in my heart and my mind. Iwould like to actually write it one day. I have a trilogy of books on meaning. I thought of a trilogy of books on health and also on wealth. I wrote out a high level plan of what they were and will start to put my thoughts … in my newsletter.
I hope it helps you in your life. Here goes.
The Anatomy of Power
Anatomy is Destiny.
Sigmund Freud
In 1543, a young anatomist named Andreas Vesalius stood in a candlelit theatre in Padua and began dismantling centuries of anatomical assumption. Until Vesalius, anatomy had been blindly inherited more than observed. Ancient authorities were copied by routine. Diagrams repeated. Hardly questioned as to veracity.
Vesalius questioned.
He dissected the human hand bone by bone. 27 bones. A choreography of tendons. Cables under tension that produced a symphony of coordinated moves of fingers and hands. A structure of astonishing precision. Our marvelous hands’ structure was breathtaking.
He traced two nerves in particular.
The median nerve governs the thumb, index and half of the middle fingers. It si the nerve of precision. It allows opposition, the thumb to touch the finger, a motion that separates us from most mammals. With it, we write, sculpt, draw and perform surgery. It is the architecture of execution. Power exemplified.
The ulnar nerve, running on the inside of your arm governs the ring, pinky and half of the third finger. Subtler. Less dominant. Yet when injured, grip weakens drastically. Power drains quietly. Coordination dissolves. It strengths and stabilizes. Precision and support.
The body is not random. It is paired and it is balanced.
In cardiology, plaque accumulates millimeter by millimeter. An LDL particle slips beneath the endothelial lining. Inflammation follows. Immune cells seek to contain it and start forming fatty streaks that turn into atheroma, which harden over time, atherosclerosis or calcified plaque. I have too much of this. From fried and heated oil foods.
There is no alarm until arteries are blocked 70% or more or when they are fragile and break off to clot the entire artery. Heart attack. Stroke.
Drift is anatomical.
And your conviction and dreams do not collapse overnight. It erodes by degrees like rock withering by the constant waves over a period of time. Discipline does not disappear dramatically. It loosens molecule by molecule.
Meaning dissolves the same way.
The body organizes strength in two hands. Most of us are right-hand dominant. The right hand signs contracts, lifts weights, builds, executes. It is the hand of power.
The left hand rests closer to the heart. Often less dominant. Harder to write and draw with. Yet necessary. When you tie your shoes, zip up. It stabilizes. It balances. It carries the covenant ring.
Power and proximity.
Execution and alignment.
It dawned on me, as I visualized my fingers in the quiet morning, woken up in the heat of a double layer of pajamas, as my hands and feet get cold when I fast, that the body is hidden wisdom and not merely functional but also instructional. A blueprint to use to design our life, our businesses, our products. Our varied organs organized to sustain and grow life.
Ten fingers. Mean Ten principles to live our lives by. By design, rather than by circumstance, blown by the wind.
The right hand demands training. Strength must be cultivated beore it is trusted. Without discipline, power corrodes and becomes toxic. With structure, conviction decays and disappears.
The left hand demands alignment. Integrity must stablize execution. Gratitude must temper ambition. Humility must steady strength.
Power without heart corrupts.
Heart without power is weak and stagnates.
The Right Hand: Power (Execution)
Power must be trained before it is trusted.
Dr. Kevin Ham
The right hand is: Execution. Discipline. Structure.
Thumb: Strength & Opposition
Symbol: Capability
The thumb makes grip possible. Without it, power collapses. It represents foundational strength and the ability to oppose resistance.
My principle here: Observe and seek truth deeply. Slow down enough to see early signals — in my body, business, relationships, and soul. Catch drift while it is still reversible.
Index Finger: Direction
Symbol: Truth and alignment of aim.
The pointing finger sets trajectory. It determines where force is aimed.
Mine: Choose Truth Over Comfort. Do not negotiate with facts — medical, financial, relational, or spiritual. Face reality quickly. Correction early prevents catastrophe later.
Middle Finger: Backbone
Symbol: Discipline — the structural spine of execution.
The tallest and most central. It stabilizes grip and anchors force.
Mine: Practice Discipline as Reverence. Repetition builds strength. Train when I don’t feel like it. Fast when it’s inconvenient. Guard inputs. Small, daily obedience compounds into strength.
Ring Finger: Covenant
Symbol: Stewardship and responsibility.
Traditionally associated with commitment. It reminds us that power must serve something larger than self.
Mine: Steward, Don’t Possess. What you hold is entrusted. My body, influence, money, time, and intellect are entrusted. I am accountable for how I use them, not how I accumulate them.
Pinky: Stabilization
Symbol: Systems and small daily habits that preserve strength.
Small but essential for grip strength. Often unnoticed until weakened.
Mine: Build Systems That Protect Your Future Self. Structure carries me when willpower fades. Install structure while I’m strong, routines, guardrails, calendar discipline, so that fatigue or emotion cannot undo me.
Master these first. The right hand of power. Without power, intention weakens.
The Left Hand: Heart (Alignment)
Alignment protects what power creates.
Dr. Kevin Ham
The left hand is: Alignment. Humility. Wisdom.
Thumb: Integrity
Symbol: Core moral alignment.
Foundation of character. What you oppose defines you.
Mine: Live as If Heaven Is Watching. Hardest one for me. Make decisions as if God sees the motive, not just the outcome. Optimize for integrity, not applause.
Index Finger: Examination
Symbol: Self-audit and humility.
Turns inward before pointing outward.
Mine: Revise Without Ego. Examine myself quarterly. Tighten what drifts. Admit error quickly. Growth requires correction.
Middle Finger: Perspective
Symbol: Gratitude and balance.
Central stabilizer in times of stress.
Mine: Give Thanks in Gain and Crisis. Crisis carries both Danger & Opportunity. The Chinese character for crisis is made of two characters: Danger & Opportunity. When something good happens, give thanks. When something hard happens, look for refinement.
Ring Finger: Commitment to the Vital Few
Symbol: Protecting what truly multiplies.
Long-term bonds and focus.
Mine: Guard the Vital Few. Small inputs compound. The fractal law. Nature repeats patterns at every scale — arteries, trees, oceans. Identify the 20% of habits, relationships, and decisions that shape 80% of my outcomes — and defend them ruthlessly.
Pinky: Dependence
Symbol: Wisdom through reliance beyond self.
Smallest digit. Essential support.
Mine: Ask, Seek, Knock for Wisdom, With Confidence. Wisdom is pursued. Do not trust intellect alone. Ask for wisdom before acting. Seek clarity before scaling. Dependence sharpens discernment.
Your turn, Your Hands
Providential Serendipity has five fingers to grab a hold of you and me. Just grab her hand and let her lead.
Dr. Kevin Ham
Look at your hands.
On the right, write five principles of power.
On the left, write five principles of heart.
Keep them short. Behavioral. Non-negotiable. Count them weekly.
See the Appendix below for your Ten Fingers Manifesto Worksheet
Master the right hand first. Then rotate to the left.
Power without heart corrodes. Heart without power stagnates.
Ten fingers. Ten decisions. Write yours. And live them. The hand was never merely mechanical.
It blesses. It builds. It heals. It is lifted in surrender.
Ten fingers. Ten daily decisions.
May my right hand build with courage.
May my left hand remain near the heart.
May both hands stay open before God.
I will not merely study the structure. I will live it.
P.S. If you write your ten principles, send them to me. I would genuinely love to see what governs your power and what guards your heart.
Expect and Attempt
Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God.
William Carey
In 1792, William Carey stood before a modest gathering and spoke the sentence above that would echo across centuries and reverberate in my soul and spirit.
Expectation is faith. Attempt is stewardship.
Meaning is not contemplation alone, it is construction. The body removes damaged cells to survive. The soul must remove trivial pursuits to live.
Our ten fingers represent ten decisions based on ten principles to live, repeated daily in varying forms to various people and circumstances. Perhaps this is why it is Ten Commandments and not any other number.
You are already living by some set of principles. The question is whether you chose them.
One day these hands will tremble, weaken and rest. Before that day comes, let’s use them to live life with intention. Train the hand of power. Steady it with the hand of humility. Keep both open before God and man.
The anatomy was not accidental. It was for our instruction. The body teaches survival. The soul must learn to life.
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You’ll find these articles insightful and helpful as well:
Life-Changing Question
What do your ten fingers tell you?
Fill out the worksheet below.
TEN FINGERS MANIFESTO WORKSHEET
Write five Power principles on your Right Hand and five Heart principles on your Left Hand. Each principle should be short, behavioral, and non-negotiable.
RIGHT HAND: POWER (Execution & Discipline)
1. Thumb (Strength & Awareness):
________________________________
2. Index (Direction & Truth):
________________________________
3. Middle (Backbone & Discipline):
________________________________
4. Ring (Covenant & Stewardship):
________________________________
5. Pinky (Stability & Systems):
________________________________
LEFT HAND: HEART (Alignment & Humility)
6. Thumb (Integrity & Character):
________________________________
7. Index (Self-Examination):
________________________________
8. Middle (Gratitude & Perspective):
________________________________
9. Ring (Vital Few & Commitment):
________________________________
10. Pinky (Dependence & Wisdom):
________________________________
Weekly Practice: Count them weekly. Master the Right Hand first. Then rotate into the Left Hand.
Annual Practice: Revise without ego
Next issue:
Reversing High Blood Pressure in a Week
What Most Doctors Don’t Know
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