Live to see business grow with better lifestyle choices

“You know, if I had known I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself.” That is a quote from a family business owner in the book: “Inside the Family Business” by Leon Danco (1980).

I grew up in a family of seven children, four of who were boys. My nephews and nieces laugh when I tell them that as I was growing up, I was almost always hungry. Meal times did not end because we were full — a sensation we (the boys) experienced only once or twice a year; they ended because the food was finished.

Arriving at the dining table five minutes after the call to a meal guaranteed that you got only a small helping. It was not until I was in my early twenties that I realised that refrigerators could store raw and cooked food.

Not that we were poor; on the contrary, our father was a senior civil servant who provided well for us.

While he was not extravagant, he ensured that we all went to good schools, were fairly dressed and shod. However, with a family of seven children, four of who were boys with voracious appetites, one needed to be very careful not to be eaten out of house and home.

One day our eldest sister, feeling energetic and generous, decided that she would feed us with chapati. She embarked on the task with gusto at 11am, allowing us all to sample her work at will. Two hours (and 4kg of flour) later, she had an empty dish and a line of hungry children waiting for lunch. In despair, she surrendered to our mother saying that “it’s only you who can feed this brood of yours”.
In boarding school, the food situation was even worse. We ate githeri — maize, beans and weevils— every single day for the four years I was in high school. We had one piece of meat twice a week and an egg once a term. Most of my dreams and fantasies were centered on the long, leisurely meals I would enjoy when I grew up.

Now that I am fortunate enough to afford meals of my choice, I face a dilemma. Balancing what is good for me against what I feel is my right to compensate for what I perceive to have been hardship when I was growing up. Buffet tables at breakfast, lunch and dinner pose a special challenge given the sumptuous rich food that they offer.

The greatest temptation for successful family business owners, especially the men, is to indulge in all the luxuries previously denied them in their childhood and the days they were struggling to build the venture.

Not that women are exempt. It is just that I have never seen women “pigging out,” at least not in public; The “all you can eat” restaurant concept is mainly a preserve of the men. As far as I know, the women who patronise such establishments only go to observe their men in action.

Over-indulgence is easy to justify and goes like this: “Surely after all the hard work, time and effort I put into the venture, I’m entitled to a little food, fun and drink aren’t I? So what if I have a little more nyama choma and Tusker Malt? Have I not earned it? As for the girls ……. you do not understand how it felt to have all the pretty girls look right through me when I was in college.

The trouble is that all these actions, individually and collectively translate into an unhealthy lifestyle with the potential for untold medical (and family) consequences. Many a family business owner, confronted by these realities later in life as he lies on an expensive hospital bed, rues the habits brought on by earlier success.

Your health is one of your most important assets. Unlike money, it is irreplaceable and is only valued once it is lost.

Legitimate indulgence

Justified as you may be to indulge yourself now that you have the means, it is important to balance this with the desire to live long and see your business grow, flourish and pass on to the next generations.

The leader of family business should plan to be around for a long time and live accordingly.

A little legitimate indulgence here and there can be a great way to celebrate achievement and make meaning out of life. The important thing is to keep in all in balance.