Live long and prosper! Longevity tips from billionaire T. Boone Pickens.
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The 83-year-old’s c.v. reads like that of a small-to-medium-sized nation. He earned a fortune, lost it, then rebuilt it again around the age when most people retire. At the helm of Mesa Petroleum, he did battle with Big Oil, calling for massive, industry-wide restructuring. His Corporate Wellness program transformed Mesa into “the Most Physically Fit Company in America.” In 2008, he launched an $82 million advertising and lecture campaign in support of “the Pickens Plan,” an ambitious roadmap for American energy independence. And throughout his career, Pickens has given away almost $1 billion to support medical research, kids at risk, education, and athletics.
1. Find Your Motivation. “First, you’ve mentally got to want to do it. It’s never a temptation to me, for instance, to stay in bed. It’s never a temptation to stay home on a work day. I can’t wait to get to the office in the morning.”
hard liquor now. I drink wine, maybe a couple of glasses with dinner. More than that––never was of interest to me.”
“My mother only took two bites of a dessert. I’ve never been able to master this, but I’m getting better at it . . . “
3. Stick to a Routine. “My first call to the office in the morning is 6:15. It’s 15 minutes before I start working out and I already have traders on the desk and I get what happened around the world at 6:15 in the morning . I have a trainer that comes in at 6:30 in the
morning. Somebody asked me one time ‘Would you stay on that schedule if you didn’t have that trainer?’ I don’t think I would. This trainer has been with me 17 years.
“The commodities market opens at 8:00, and equities open at 8:30 . I’m in the office before 8 and I have called the first meeting for the opening of the equities at 8:30.”
4. Watch Your Weight. “I’m very sensitive to weight. My mother, I can still remember when she was 40 years-old, she said: “I’ll never weigh 120 pounds.” And she never did. I weigh 175. The highest I’ve ever weighed in my life was 181, so weight is a big deal to me. I was 168 for over 20 years and so I’m only 6 pounds, 7 pounds above that weight. I’d very much
like to get back to 168––and I’ll make it back.”
WEIGH IN! Who’s your Octogenarian Role Model?
. . . Who’s your octogenarian role model, and why?