Business Talk #1: Watch your back, literally.
I had to put pause on my life. And it shattered me.
Three months ago, I slipped 3 spinal discs — all at the same time. It came at one of the most difficult times: I was running a business, managing three teams across three time zones, and gearing up for new product launches. But hindsight being 2020 (pun intended), it’s also been a blessing in disguise.
But before I get into that, here’s what happened.
I woke up with no sensation in my right leg.
About three months ago, I was gearing up for an international flight, but was craving a good workout. I was trying to compensate for the bad habits of an entrepreneurial lifestyle — all the late night snacking and garbage sleep schedule.
I did a full-body routine — barbell squats, bench presses, pull-ups, and HIIT exercises. I felt amazing after my workout. I got the hit of post-workout adrenaline, my joints felt limber, and I even took a nice steam shower to wind down.
With that, I Ubered to the airport, boarded my flight, and was off to the other side of the world. After arriving, I felt a little sore but assumed it was just muscle soreness like any other workout. When I got home from the airpot, I showered and napped for a few hours.
I woke up with no sensation in my right leg. I immediately went to to hospital.
“Your back is like a game of Jenga.”
When the MRI results came back, the doctor looked at me and asked me if I had ever played Jenga. And he explained to me what happened:
A little over three years ago, I started taking weightlifting and physical fitness really seriously. In a short 6 months gained 20 pounds of muscle, learned to move like an athlete, and always pushed myself to set new personal records.
Through those grueling workouts, I developed some micro-injuries in my spine, but I was completely unaware of it. Apparently, my back muscles were substituting as spinal support making it feel 100% normal.
However, I started developing horrible lifestyle habits after starting my company — I ate late night snacks, stopped working out, and had a sporadic sleep schedule. So my back muscle had disappeared. Any awkward movement could collapse the entire spine.
And like Jenga, one small misstep causes the entire structure to collapse.
My physical injury messed with my mental state.
My recovery process started with seeing multiple doctors and chiropractors. They all gave me the rundown and steps to physical recover, and it was easy. It was like a simple to-do list, with regular check-ins, and I could tangibly see the progress.
But what I wasn’t prepared for was the affect it had on my mental state.
Imagine where I was just a week before the injury. I was an entrepreneur, traveling the globe, taking on big problems. I was living the full me-against-the-world mentality.
Just one week and one injury later, I was bedridden and 100% dependent on others. At one point, I had to call my mom to wheelchair me to the toilet. And then have her wait outside before wheeling me back to bed.
It was devastating.
The entire time, I was mentally ready to get back into the game. To lead my team, build product, and take on the world. But I knew that my body couldn’t handle it anymore.
And it was at that moment I knew it was time to hit reset.
“You can have everything you want, just not all at the same time.”
Throughout my recovery journey, a close friend introduced me to a podcast that was incredibly impactful:
Leah Busque Solivan, TaskRabbit’s Founder, talked about her near-death experience and how she was able to balance her crazy business life at an incredibly high-growth company.
She talks about how people always remind us that “you can’t have everything in life.” But there shouldn’t be any of the negativity in life. The fact is, you can have everything, just not all at the same time.
Listen to the podcast here:
Young people, you need good posture.
I’ve gone through countless hours of physical therapy, resistance training, and have finally made my way back to play full-court basketball.
The honest truth is that this has been a a blessing in disguise. It’s taught me having incredible physical and mental posture can take you through any hardship or challenge.
I’ve learned how to sit better, walk straighter, and lessen the burden on my back. But at the same time, it’s given me better “posture” in how I think about life, my career, and my interests. But I think I’ll save those insights for another post.
As of now, the thing I’m looking forward most is to keep taking things day-by-day and get well enough to play a round of golf.
Have you had a similar experience? What helped you get through it? Who did you have to lean on to get stronger?
Feel free to connect with me! iamtedko@gmail.com
