WWB Featured Book: Eat Move Sleep–How Small Choices Lead to Big Changes
WWB Wise Guru & Author: Tom Rath
Author Profile: Tom Rath is considered one of the most influential authors of the last decade, whose books and studies have focused on the role of human behavior in health, business, and economics.
Tom has written several international bestsellers, including the #1 New York Times bestseller How Full Is Your Bucket? In 2012, his book StrengthsFinder 2.0 was the top-selling nonfiction book worldwide. Rath’s most recent New York Times bestsellers are Strengths Based Leadership and Wellbeing: The Five Essential Elements.
He also serves as a senior scientist and advisor to Gallup, where he previously spent 13 years leading the organization’s work on employee engagement, strengths, and well-being. Rath also served as vice chairman of the VHL cancer research organization. He earned degrees from the University of Michigan and the University of Pennsylvania, where he is now a guest lecturer. He and his wife, Ashley, and their two children live in Arlington, Virginia.
Welcome Tom to World Wise Beauty- I am truly honored to have you join me here. I am honored because you are a well-respected author and scientist but I am truly honored because you are wise human being with a great spirit and voice. I don’t know if our readers will glean all this from just a short Q&A but I promise them if they read your books they will come to my same opinion. You begin your book with a very personal story about your own health issues and facing life threatening cancer at the age of sixteen. This traumatic event at such a young age must have impacted your life in a major way. Can you share a little about how your battle with a rare genetic cancer has shaped your attitude, lifestyle and habits?
Lauroly Q- In some ways your early hardship was a blessing in disguise. You are probably healthier than most people without cancer. My Mom is in the advanced stages of cancer right now and has lived several years beyond what doctors told her she would because she was very health conscious most of her adult life. I share this because your book is a call to action for everyone to take good care of themselves because little changes and regular good habits can insure a lifetime of good-health and ward off many diseases like diabetes and heart disease. And in your case and my Mom’s—even slow down the acceleration of cancer. The title of your book Eat, Move, Sleep is simple. How did you decide on this title and why did you choose to make healthy living sound so simple.
Lauroly Q- You have a chapter on “sugar” and you refer to it as the next nicotine of our time. You say this because it’s addictive but many people don’t really understand the real magnitude of sugar’s effects on the body. Rather than beating people over the head with scary lectures about sugar you highlight the very rapid and positive affects one experiences just by reducing your sugar intake a little. Tell us more…
Lauroly Q- We can’t end this Q&A without talking about the very important subject of sleep. Living in a world hyped up on technology and keeping us constantly tuned in, we are losing our natural circadian rhythms, which many scientists believe we must maintain for good health and well-being. I loved your chapter called “Feast at Sunrise, Fast at Sunset”. Why is sleep so important to our health and what are the simple things we can we do to get more of it?
Lauroly Closing- Thank you Tom for stopping by to share your wisdom and expertise on health and wellness based on your real life experience and scientific research. Yes, you do have a great deal of research and studies behind you, but you are also sort of like a wise grandfather one always wants to take time to listen to. Perhaps this is because you had an amazing relationship with your own grandfather who was a huge positive influence on your life. And maybe facing adversity and the concept of death early in life helped you to appreciate and value your life and health in a profound way. It all adds up. But one thing is for sure, we are lucky you have a wonderful gift for clear writing, communicating and sharing wisdom. Keep sharing…we are listening!
To learn more about Tom Rath and his other best-selling books, please visit www.tomrath.org.
Truly herself,
Lauroly