By all odds, the chances of me writing this are pretty slim. Five years ago, around this time, I had walked into the emergency room of the UCSF Hospital in San Francisco, complaining of a bad heartburn. In reality, it was a heart attack. The numbers were against me. I was one of the almost a-million Americans who suffer some kind of heart attack every year.

Prayers, divine intervention, great medicine or all of those resulted in me walking out of the hospital a few days later, and a month later I was back in the saddle again. I got really lucky that I got a second chance – a chance to not only remake my body, but myself and my life. I got a chance to make some wrongs right.

I stopped smoking (after over 20 years of smoking two packets a day), said sayonara to scotch and red meat, and cut out salt and sugar out of my diet. I have become 80 percent vegetarian — one on five meals has animal protein, and that does mean egg whites. I signed a life team deal with oatmeal and found myself a trainer. I lost about 70 pounds and acquired a somewhat buddhist approach to life and its events.

Not everything worked out as planned. About 30 pounds have come back and I need to figure out a way to lose those. I eat Ramen, which is salty. And when in Paris, a macaroon or two are acceptable with one’s espresso. My fondness for French Toast makes me cheat once in a while, but when it comes to making changes, I would give myself a solid B+.

However, when it comes to work, I have failed to come to terms with my new reality. Despite all the efforts of my teammates and the loved ones, I remain addicted to my work – whether it is writing or learning. It is just because it is not work, it is what I do. My friends tell me that I need to refocus, slow down and do things differently. Perhaps, on this fifth anniversary, I will indeed take their advise — and slow down the tempo a tad. Maybe even take a break from work and go on a real vacation.

If I don’t, then I will be reminded that:

For 325,000 people every year, the crushing chest pain and shortness of breath that often accompany a heart attack are not new sensations. That’s because more than one third of the heart attacks that occur every year (325,000 out of 945,000) happen to people who have already had at least one before.

In fact, previous myocardial infarction, the medical term for heart attack, is one of the biggest risk factors for future myocardial infarction (called ‘MI’ for short). Among patients who survive their first MI, 21% of men and 33% of women will experience another one within six years. The odds that any person 35 or older will have a recurrent MI in a year are 1 in 492.6

(via Book of Odds )

Heart disease is a growing problem and 1 in 5 people over the age of 40 suffer from some kind of heart related issues. I call upon you to think about that and contribute to the efforts of UCSF, one of the finest cardiology establishments in the country.

Make the check to: UCSF Foundation. (In the notes area of the check, write ‘OM/Cardiovascular Research Initiative.’)

Mail the check to: UCSF Foundation, UCSF Box 0248, San Francisco, CA 94143-0248. ATTN: Kevin McAteer, Director of Development

If you have time, please take a moment and learn more about heart and vascular diseases, how to prevent them, and how to figure out if you have a problem. Visit the UCSF web site.

25 thoughts on “Five years later”

  2. Om – thanks for the heartfelt writeup. Just sent my check to the UCSF foundation. I had a similar journey to yours. Similar south asian roots, worked in startups on a pizza and expresso diet. Startup success only made it easier to indulge. Started having difficulty walking stairs in my late 30s and found I was about 40 lbs overweight and diabetic. Resolved to cut back on 80-hr work weeks, get exercise, eat better. I dropped all that weight over the next 2 years and which culminated in running the LA Marathon. Moved up to the Bay Area to Twitter; with all the good food around SF, it’s a constant battle to keep off the lbs. But keep up the good fight. Life is worth it!

    1. Thanks Ravi. I am glad you are doing well. I am resolving to a 40-hour work week and walking every day… I am unable to run for other reasons but walking is a good enough substitute. As you said, life is worth it.

  4. Very good reading indeed. I totally agree with you. It takes a lot of dedication, will to fight out those lbs and like you mentioned you gained back 30 lbs. Well you know you’ve done it, so attack the weight problem through newer ways like signing up for a long distance running.

  5. “I remain addicted to my work – whether it is writing or learning. It is just because it is not work, it is what I do.”
    – This stood out for me. It is obvious that “what you do” sustains you. We all talk about balance – but it is very hard to create anything of lasting value without being a little bit out of balance…

  7. Thanks for sharing this with us, you are a great real-life, fallible role model for a lot of us starting out in the technology, investing and blogging world. Looking forward to many more years!

  8. “Despite all the efforts of my teammates and the loved ones, I remain addicted to my work – whether it is writing or learning.”

    I hear you on the writing, but I don’t consider learning to be work. In fact, I find it a refreshing break from work, even though I’m learning on the computer – the very same device I work on. An online Python class and much reading of various interests help but the key is to forget the computer is a device for work during such times.

    Here’s to many more 5 year anniversaries!

  10. As is @hunterwalk and many others, I too am very glad you are here to write this post. While I love our long distance relationship, I’d love to see you more. I’ll make a real effort in 2013 when I’m in the bay area.

    1. Brad

      Distance is but a human construct. Being able to reach out and touch through the Internet is a good way for me to remind myself, how blessed I am to know a guy like you. That said, I am up for Boulder whenever you are ready 😉

  11. It’s really really good to do what you do – to STOP sometimes (once a week?) and to think: what are we doing??!! And to work on “super lists” with what we want (which – I recommend – has health goals).

    You good, Om!

  12. Some months ago you told me that you were comfortable with the idea of mortality. I value your work and insight, but place an even greater value on your friendship – so *please* find a sustainable pace that allows you to thrive!

    1. Steve

      Thanks for the kind note and grateful that I have friends like you. I will be in a constant effort to get better and more focused on creating a good and balanced life.

  13. Dear Om,
    I’m unsurprised to learn that you suffer from workaholism. I drew my own conclusions when you posted a newsletter on Christmas Day. If your life has become more Buddhist, then you know about the middle path. I support the idea of your taking a more moderate attitude toward your work life.

    The things you write are valuable. You are more valuable.
    Regards,
    Bshane

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