Did you squeeze your lemon to the last drop?

Are you truly living your life?

Every man dies, not every man really lives.

William Wallace (Braveheart)

These words echoed in the heart of Cha, as she eulogized her late great father, Rob Thompson.

As Cha graduated high school, Rob asked her, "Did you squeeze your lemon?" Cha replied, "What do you mean by that?" "Each experience is a lemon. Did you squeeze your lemon to the last drop?"

Every experience is a lemon. Rob had these one-line euphemisms and proverbs. Since he had so many wealthy clients, I asked him a lot about his philosophy on life, wealth, and passing on financial and intellectual wealth to our next generation.

• "Dishwashers work hard. You should work smart."

• "People may think you're an idiot if you are silent, but if you speak, they'll know you're an idiot."

• "All wealthy people want their kids to turn out well, but unfortunately, most don't."

• "Never give them so much that they self-destruct or don't have to work. By 35, their character and values are established, so give them enough to have optionality."

• "Money gives you optionality, but it doesn't solve the essential issues of life."

• "I am part of all who I've met." — from the poem 'Ulysses' by Alfred Lord Tennyson.

• "Never let the truth get in the way of a good story." He was a great storyteller.

• "If not me, then who? If not now, then when?" — His take on a quote from Hillel the Elder, a 1st-century Jewish scholar.

• "I married up." When I met Rob's wife, Anita, yesterday, I understood what he meant.

I was so excited to have lunch with Rob on Monday, Feb 10. 12:15 pm, to be exact. I showed up at noon, deciding to wait for him for once, as I always run late. At 12:18pm, I texted him, "Hi Rob, at lunch at Oshi Nori. Do you want me to order a sushi set for you? Everything ok?" He was never late. Every time the door opened, I expected to see his smiling face. By 12:45, I ate by myself, wondering what was wrong. At 3:24, "Dear Rob… I hope you are ok. Let me know for peace of mind or anything I can do to help if you are in Vancouver."

Rob had climbed the Matterhorn just 18 months prior. He was so physically fit. He regularly ran 10 miles up mountains. He was training for his next mountain summit that Monday morning. A sudden heart attack while on his elliptical ended his beautiful life before he could hop on the plane from San Francisco to Vancouver and embrace our intellects and hearts in our latest venture together. Ten days earlier, he and his family had invested a large sum in my new startup, How.com. "Really excited about joining you in this opportunity. Look forward to our journey on this together."

His beautiful wife, Anita, in Rob's celebration of life just this past Sunday in San Fran, said, that catharsis is a greek word, a concept to express our hearts together, so that the emotions of grief and loss can be shared and have an outlet. Most people can maintain up to 150 close relationships. She said that Rob had 10 times that number of deep relationships. Rob was a mighty man, one of my great friends.

We met in 2012 as he wanted to introduce his prestigious investment bank, Goldman Sachs, to me. We became instant friends at that first meeting. Later that Summer, when I returned from Paris, I shared with him that I wanted to make epic movies in 10-20 years. He said he had just met Harald Ludwig, the Chairman of Lionsgate Entertainment. "Really? Can you introduce him to me?" He laughed and said that Harald wanted to meet me. I was confused. "How does he know about me?" I asked. "I told him about you." Harald and I have also become good friends. Every time Rob visited Vancouver, we would all have a meal together. We were so engaged in our deep conversations that I realize now that while it is customary for me to take lots of photos when I am with people, I had no photos with Rob—just the image of his smiling face, full of wit and wisdom, inscribed in my heart.

I could never have imagined Rob dying of a heart attack. I thought I had decades more with him. I implore everyone in their 40s and up to get a calcium heart scan and carotid ultrasound now. Just that Monday night, I visited my friend Yen in the hospital; who had a heart attack on Saturday, had two emergency stents put in and two days later, an additional two coronary stents (quadruple heart vessel disease).

Rob lived a full life at the highest level in both his professional and personal life. For you Rob, I dedicate How.com and our journey together will live on in my heart. But how I wished for two things. First, I wish I had talked to you much more about health; second, I wish I had shared the gospel with you. I will be bolder yet humble, with both going forward. I love you, buddy. May God have mercy and grace on your soul and give strength and peace to your dear family.

This week, I wanted to write about my friend Rob and also share a health and life message. I wonder why God allowed Rob to leave so early. I am still grieving him. I wish this would not happen to anyone without warning.

If you wish to read my three health principles, read on. I pray that they will give you a decade or two more of a vibrant, healthy, wholesome life.

My 3 Health Principles:

Seek God, then love, then wisdom, then health, then wealth, in this order.

Dr. Kevin Ham

My first love was to become a medical doctor since age 14. I became a beloved physician at 30. Now I do health as philanthropy. I have three principles of health that I try to abide by.

Health Principle #1: Prevention is the key to health

While we all combat disease throughout our lives, and one day, our lives will end, the truly great health leaps in longevity have not only been treatments but more so with basic preventative health measures: clean water, clear air, good nutrition, good sewage, good hygiene, immunizations, good fitness, and good relationships with people and nature.

Heart disease is a metabolic disease, triggered mainly by diet but also lifestyle. It is caused by the oxidation of fats in the blood, such as oxidized LDL. What causes this oxidation? Chronic stress, inflammation, heated vegetable oils, and the glycation (sugar) of these fats and proteins, forming advanced glycation end-products (AGEs).

The first vegetable oil was introduced in 1911 by Proctor and Gamble, a candle and soap company. As electricity and high costs threatened the candle business, they hired a chemist to make synthetic fats from seeds to reduce the costs of buying animal fats that were used to make the soaps and candles. They used cotton seed and turned it into oil, which they branded as Crisco (crystallized cotton seed oil). They touted it as a healthier alternative to animal fats and introduced it into the food system. Then came a slew of replacements for beef tallow, lard and ghee (animal fats). Margarine replaced butter. Canola, sunflower, safflower, grapeseed oils replaced olive oil (which is more stable but not as stable as coconut oil). If you must eat fried foods, please consider the use of animal fats, which are the most stable.

The first documented heart attack in the US was in 1912. Dr. William Osler, a Canadian physician in Toronto, co-founder of the prestigious Johns Hopkins Hospital in the US, and also having practiced in Oxford, England, had never seen a heart attack in these three major cities, even until his death in 1919. Heart attacks were very rare. My mentor, who is now in his early 80s, was a doctor in the biggest hospital in Seoul, Korea and only saw a few heart attacks a year in 1975. American fast foods only entered South Korea in the early 1970s.

Removing these vegetable oils, refined sugars, and modern wheat would eliminate heart disease. If you look at the ingredient labels of any packaged foods, you will see sunflower oil, safflower oil, and canola oil in almost all of them. These are processed in factories that look like oil refineries. Inside these oils are trans fats and many oxidative compounds that, when heated again, increase and then oxidize the fats in your bloodstream, leading to inflammation and thickening of the arteries.

From age 55, your muscle mass and bone strength start diminishing faster. At age 75, it takes a drastic turn. You must increase your weight bearing and strength to decrease this loss. I have my 89-year-old father do 100 squats a day (20 squats every hour, five times a day). He can barely walk now as he lay in bed for three years during the Covid years and lost a lot of muscle mass. I will start doing some weights to increase my muscle mass so that if I live to 100, I have enough to be mobile and independent, God willing.

Keep fit, strong, and safe. The Venn of these three things is health:

Health Principle #2: Do no harm

This is part of the Hippocratic oath. Non nocere. We live in an era where money trumps health. Everyone now knows that smoking causes cancer and heart disease. The cigarette packaging warns this, yet we still allow its sale. Meanwhile, selling raw milk in Canada and half of the US is illegal.

Another example of this is fried food — French fries, fried chicken — or foods laden with highly refined sugars. These are recipes for the current heart disease epidemics and cancers.

Herbicides and pesticides like Roundup (glyphosate) have metabolic and hormonal effects on the body. Choosing organic foods is a simple principle to eliminate these from your diet. But organic does not necessarily mean healthy. Foods should be regarded as nutrition and the building blocks for the cells and systems of your body. Monocrop agriculture leads to mineral-deficient soils and, therefore, foods. Many people are deficient in magnesium, selenium, and copper. Magnesium and copper are essential for healthy mitochondrial function, which produces ATP, your body's energy source.

Just like a cast prevents further harm to a fractured bone, what "cast" can you put around your mouth and body that won't allow further damage and toxicity? And let the natural healing ability of your immune system to work. The first cast is health education, which is knowing the difference between real food and fake food (what we call junk food).

The marketing machines of the food industry lead you to believe that this fake food is real and tasty and cheap and convenient, infiltrating your body. This leads to inevitable disease, much earlier onset and severity. Most civilized countries have succumbed to the laws of economics rather than the laws of health.

Health Principle #3: Empower your body to heal

When illness strikes, let your body fight and heal. Just as a fracture heals as part of your remarkable body's repair and rejuvenation system, your body needs the nutrition or micro and macro nutrients to do so. Most people are nutritionally deficient. Medicine doesn't give too much heed and emphasis to these measures. Most lack the fat-soluble vitamins and minerals: Vitamin A, D, E and K2. Typically, these vitamins are found in animal fats. We don't need a lot. Magnesium, zinc, and iron are better absorbed with healthy fats and proteins. When your body has all the necessary nutrition, as well as sunlight, proper rest and good relationships (you only really need one or two really good ones), your body will heal itself.

I liken illness or disease to a fire on the stove. If it is caught early, it can be extinguished with a bit of water, but if left to burn, it will turn into a wildfire that requires waterbombers to put it out. Prevent forest fires by putting them out when they are small — your body can do this. But when it is left to rage, it starts to affect multiple systems; then, it becomes very difficult to manage as it cascades. This is the same for cancer. An early detected cancer is curable. It's easier to kill 1 billion localized cancer cells (typically 0.5 cm in size) than 100 billion cancer cells that have spread to other parts of the body.

Life Questions:

Embrace each day of life full of gratitude and opportunistic eyes

Dr. Kevin Ham

1. How long do you want to live? (quantity)

• The average is ~ 78 to 80 years.

• Do you want to be above average? 

• If so, what will you do daily for Health Principles #1, 2 and 3?

• Start small and let your good habits compound over time. You will be amazed at what changes you see in three months, six months, one year, three years, five years, and a decade.

• I pray for 100 years of life. I want to do a handful of things in my remaining time. I am turning 55 this year. Rob lived for 58 years.

2. How do you want to live your life? (quality)

• Will you squeeze each lemon you are given fully?

• What lemons do you want to squeeze?

Next week:
Don’t let fear of criticism prevent you from doing what is in your heart

Honour your own thoughts and heart first.

See you next Thursday!

Subscribe to my Compounding Wisdom newsletter and start transforming your life.

7 Principles of Blood for Life

You understand life, if you understand blood.

In every drop of my blood, there is life, and in every beat of my heart, there is love.

As I studied blood, I was amazed at the lessons it offered about life. Here are 7 principles of blood that can teach us how to live more deeply and meaningfully.

In our first gross anatomy class, the smell of formaldehyde made me nauseous. For others, it was the idea of all the cadavers that we would cut open to study the parts of the body.

Thud! Thud!

A couple of medical students around me fainted. Why does blood have this effect on us? When it's inside our bodies, it symbolizes life and protection. When it's outside, we sense danger and the possibility of death.

Blood is more than life — it's also a bond. "Blood brothers." Our forefathers shed their blood for our freedom. Blood is the bridge between life and sacrifice.

1. Life is the narrow way

The road less traveled is often the one that leads to the extraordinary.

We came out into this world through a very small, narrow path from our mothers. Such is the way of life. Each is unique, each in its time. Similar but different. Don't try to be like others. Try to be more like yourself. Walk your narrow path that only you can walk. No one can walk it for you.

People can guide you, encourage you, and inspire you to walk your own narrow path. The broad path to conform and be like everyone else is a path to ordinary life without depth or genuine hardship that shapes you into who you truly are.

That narrow way was painful, full of labour and birth pangs. Your mother went through it with you as she delivered you. Mother nature will deliver you, too, if you trust her and follow your heart.

2. Life sacrifices

A life of significance is built on the altar of selflessness.

I was curious about how many red blood cells (RBC) we had.

It's 20 trillion. Wow!

They account for 80% of the cells in our bodies. Why so many? They carry the oxygen from the air we breathe. There are 270 million hemoglobin per RBC, carrying eight oxygen atoms each... Unfathomable! 

But did you know that each RBC sacrifices itself for every other cell in your body? They lose their nucleus--the blueprint for life — to deliver oxygen, required to produce energy, to every other cell in our body. That's why RBCs look like donuts — no fat nucleus in the middle. 

RBCs deliver oxygen in tiny blood vessels called capillaries that are 5 micrometres wide. At 8 micrometres wide, RBCs normally wouldn't 'fit', but because they have no nucleus, they are flexible and can 'bend' into the capillaries. They sacrifice to serve all the other cells in your body.

Without oxygen, we would lose our life in just 5 minutes.

Imagine giving up a part of yourself so that others may thrive. That's a sacrifice without ego, a lesson in humility and service. This is a transcending life.

3. Life flows

Success is not about speed but about consistent, steady flow in the right direction.

Blood must flow for human life to continue. Once blood stops, clots form, leading to strokes or heart attacks.

The business analogy to blood is cash. Cash flow is essential for a business's life. Like water, it flows from areas of abundance to need and then back to abundance. The rich who give to the poor and where there is need receive more in return. But cash is even more valuable with intangible wealth like health, love, and the human spirit.

For our bodies, we call the 'extreme' version of flow exercise. The 'accessible' version we call 'movement'. The 'standard' version we call walking and stretching. Move and flow to be nourished and grow. It is the same for the soul and spirit.

4. Life removes toxicity

Before you can fill your life with goodness, you have to empty it of toxins.

Imagine if we had no toilets, sewage, garbage trucks or landfills. While the life-giving nourishment of oxygen in our blood is essential, removing waste is just as essential. 

A basic form of waste in the human body is carbon dioxide, which we breathe out. During the pandemic, I was running with an N95 mask. As I arrived at the restaurant to reserve a table for my family, I fainted — too much carbon dioxide built up, and I was breathing in my CO₂ for ten-ish minutes.

To remove toxicity from your mind, rid yourself of negative thoughts, regrets, and worry. Rid your spirit of sin and anger in your relationships. Purify your being from the inside out.

5. Life protects

Our immune system is the guardian of our body. Our principles are the guardians of our soul.

We also have white blood cells (WBC), which are part of our immune system. They protect us from foreign invaders like viruses, bacteria, and parasites that can infect our bodies. Some are memory cells that produce antibodies — guards who remember the 'most wanted list'. Others are natural killer cells that act like assassins, taking out dangerous intruders.

We have so many bacteria in our bodies- in our guts, skin and mouths. Our immune system has learned how to live symbiotically with other organisms inside our bodies, and the wise have learned to do so with nature.

Heed the lessons of our immune system. Can we protect and serve our fellow humans and find ways to make peace and forgive instead of exact revenge and war?

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1:1 Meeting with You

I'd like to do a 30-minute 1:1 with you.

Email me your thoughts and feedback each week, and I'll choose someone each month for a 1:1. Thanks so much. I appreciate your feedback and thoughts. It fuels me to write each week, knowing it is planting seeds in your soul.

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6. Life is integrity

Live so that when your children think of fairness and integrity, they think of you.

H. Jackson Brown, Jr. (1940-)

Platelets maintain the structural integrity of our blood vessels so that we don't lose blood. Remember your nose bleeds? Females menstruate each month to prepare the uterus for possible life. Life requires sacrifice, preparation, and repair. The highways of life must be maintained.

For our true selves, which reside in our psyche (soul/mind) and spirit, we must maintain our character. We fall short daily, but we must aspire to repair that which is hurt and harmed in ourselves, as well as the damage which we have done to others through our thoughts, words, and actions.

Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.

C.S. Lewis (1898-1963)

7. Life rests

Rest is not idleness. It is the soul’s way of recharging for its next great move.

The lungs inspire air and then relax to expire. The heart beats to move blood but then rests to fill itself. The eyes see but then blink. The body moves actively but then must rest. Even God, who created the world in six days, rested on the seventh day, the Sabbath. 

There is not enough blood in our bodies to actively supply every single cell. We only have 5L of blood, like a big jug of water. That's it. Blood is a scarce resource. The air, liquids, and food we consume become our blood. We must be very careful what we allow into our blood, for it becomes our body. It affects our mind and our spirit.

We must allow our bodies to rest, but our souls, minds, and spirits also need rest. 

The body needs rest to restore, the mind needs peace to think, and the soul needs stillness to feel.

My Life Questions:

To ask the right question is already half the solution to a problem.

Carl Jung (1875-1961)

1. What life lesson has blood taught you?

• I write this newsletter and receive some feedback but I'd love to get more feedback so I can become better as a person, as a writer and for you.

My Life Lessons Then (from my younger self):

The important thing is this: to be able at any moment to sacrifice what we are for what we could become.

Charles Du Bos (1882–1939)

1. Life is so precious but I often take each day for granted.

• I thought I had a lot of time, but the days, months and years have passed by quickly.

2. I mostly sought my own goals and interests, not so much others.

• First is surviving, then thriving--but to transcend, one must find and know oneself so that one can be of service to others.

3. Life requires sacrifice and so many people sacrificed their lives for me and believed in me.

• My parents, family, forefathers and foremothers, compatriots, friends and Lord, God, my Saviour.

• I want to do the same for others.

Life Advice Now (from my present 54 year old self):

Life is short, and it’s up to you to make it sweet.

Sarah Louise Delany (1889-1999)

1. Life is short and very precious.

• I wish to be extraordinary by living a life with a greater vision than just of myself. For the future generation. With the remaining time I have left on this earth, I will live it with all my heart and with all my might. 

• My prevailing thought: Strong body. Stronger mind. Strongest spirit.

2. Life is long and full of opportunities that must be focused and chosen.

• If I find only one or a handful of things to focus on, there is a lifetime, which we think of as very long, to do all that is truly put into my heart to inspire others to be their true selves and live brightly like lights in this world.

3. Life is eternal.

• We will live on into eternity, like a star that passed a while ago, but its light still shines forth for many years. This is our legacy. We build our legacy each day. It's not at the end. It's from the beginning. It's our life story. You do matter. You do have a legacy. Live it.
  

Next week:
The Few Things that Make you Unique

What are you a triathlete of? Explore your blend of unique abilities that make you truly unique.

Why fit in when you were born to stand out?

Dr. Seuss (1904-1991)

See you next Thursday!

Subscribe to my Compounding Wisdom newsletter and start transforming your life.