He removes the folder, closes the trunk, then walks over to a comfortable chair in the corner of the room. He sits down, opens the envelope, and begins to read a letter that will fill in a very large gap in his life.
Chapter 2: Health warning
Ben was a walking time bomb. When he walked into his doctor’s office at the age of 42, he was a prime candidate for a major heart attack, stroke, or any of a number of other debilitating middle-age diseases resulting from an adult lifestyle characterized by poor diet, physical inactivity, and way too much stress. He had been thinking of visiting his doctor for a physical examination, but hadn’t been able to fit it into his busy schedule. Even small warning signs alerting him to looming health problems had no effect—Ben was always able to find an excuse to delay. He had been procrastinating on starting a weight-loss diet, on beginning an exercise program, on trying to spend more time with his family, and on starting to work less. Very soon, he kept telling himself, all of these good intentions would come to fruition.
Just how bad his condition had become was driven home to him forcefully when the elevator in his office building was temporarily out of order, and he decided to walk the two flights of stairs up to his next meeting. By the time he had finished climbing, his legs were burning, he was gasping for air, and his pulse was racing. He was uncomfortably aware that this was his first exercise of any kind in several weeks, maybe even months or years. It took almost an hour before he was able to breathe normally again and his legs stopped aching. This was a reality check that Ben was determined not to ignore.
On his way to work each day he often drove past men and women—many of them much older than he—running or cycling or power-walking. He used to brush them off as health nuts with too much spare time on their hands. Now he began to take a critical look at his own lifestyle—his workaholic habits, his rich restaurant meals (complete with drinks and dessert, all paid for by the company expense account), his complete lack of physical activity—and wondered who was the fanatic, and to what end. His “wellness epiphany” prompted him to pick up the phone and make an appointment to see his doctor. He wasn’t sure what he was going to find out, but he could guess, and the thought scared him. He knew then that his life was about to change in a big way.
Ben, once a high school athlete, was now easily 25 pounds overweight. Results of medical tests taken at his last doctor's appointment revealed elevated cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, a high resting pulse rate, and a slow recovery rate after vigorous physical activity. In short, he was in much the same shape as more than half the population his age in North America—he may have been in good company, but it was small comfort to know that he wasn’t alone. As his doctor pointed out to him bluntly, he was another statistic waiting to happen. Unless he took steps to alter his lifestyle radically, it was only a matter of time until his lifestyle would alter him permanently.
Ben spent the next several days engaged in some serious soul-searching. On the one hand, he regretted letting his health decline for the sake of a career that really provided little satisfaction beyond a good salary. On the other hand, he felt fortunate that he had so far avoided any major health complications and had been offered an opportunity—perhaps a final one—to take control of his destiny. His family was still there for him, and that was the most important thing in the world. He was determined to make sure that he was there for them for a long time to come.
Ben had often heard about people going through a “mid-life crisis”, but dismissed the thought that it would ever happen to him. At this crossroads in his life, he now had to make a choice: do nothing and suffer the dangerous consequences, or take the opportunity to turn the situation into something positive. Without knowing how he was going to do it, Ben had already made the decision to turn his life around.
Making the decision to take action was the easy part. Ben had never been able to sit back and let others set the agenda. He had an innate ability to make the right choices on matters of critical importance. His decisions were always based on solid information, extensive research, and careful consideration. Ben was a born skeptic who instinctively looked at a situation from every possible perspective. He was a master at playing the devil’s advocate, but when he was confident that his position was solid, he didn’t hesitate to make a decision that could involve millions of dollars and the jobs of hundreds of employees. So far, his track record was unassailable.
Making a decision to change his life was less difficult than deciding how that change would take place. He had used his skills for many years in the corporate world to make millions of dollars. Now he had to turn those skills inward and make the most important decision of his life. The payoff this time would not be money—it was far more important than that. Ben was surprised to hear himself think that anything could be more important than earning another dollar, but he took it as a positive sign that his perspective was properly focused. He was back in familiar territory and confident that his skills and instincts would not let him down when he needed them most.
Ben left the doctor’s office concerned for his health and preoccupied with finding a way to turn his life around. The challenges facing him were huge, but motivation—or lack of it—would not be one of them. He decided to walk back to his office rather than hop on a crowded bus. This would give him an opportunity to think and to get some exercise.
“I’m taking the first step toward a new life,” Ben thought as he began his walk back to work.
He was suddenly jolted from his deep thought by a voice from behind.
“Ben—Ben Dayton! Hey, I’m still waitin’, Dayton!”
The voice was only vaguely familiar, but that line—“I’m still waitin’, Dayton”—was unmistakable. He hadn’t heard it since he left high school, but he would never forget it. As a stagehand during a play in Grade 10, it was Ben’s job to lower the backdrop during a scene change. The transition had to be done in total darkness in less than 30 seconds. There was no time to hesitate or make a mistake. Ben had missed his cue and found himself caught out of position when the lights went out. When the lights came back up, Ben was still scrambling up to the catwalk above the stage from where he would lower the backdrop. All of the characters were in place on stage, unsure whether they should proceed or wait. The vice-principal, Vic Parsons, was directing traffic backstage. Parsons ran the stage production like he ran the school: he expected perfection and had little patience with anyone who made a mistake. From the catwalk, Ben looked down, caught Parsons’ eye, and froze in his tracks. In a voice loud enough for everyone in the auditorium to hear, he announced: “I’m still waitin’, Dayton!”. Ben scrambled to lower the backdrop while some members of the audience laughed nervously, unsure whether this was part of the production, or a major gaffe. The rest of the play went off without a hitch, but Ben was never able to live down that moment of infamy. “I’m still waitin’, Dayton!” became everyone’s favourite expression when they saw Ben. Even though it had been over 20 years since he had heard anyone say it, the effect was electric: Ben stopped in his tracks, wheeled around, and found himself face to face with Vic Parsons.
Although Parsons had the respect of almost every student in his high school, Ben didn’t know anyone who actually liked him. This didn’t bother Parsons, though, since it was his job to enforce the rules of the school and it was probably easier to do if you were disliked but respected. A strict disciplinarian, Parsons was bigger than life in more ways than one: as an authority figure, he loomed large in the daily lives of his high school students, but physically,