Columns

We’ve known for a long time that spending too much time and energy at work can cost us. We’ve all seen hardworking friends disappear off the social radar while in hot pursuit of career success, and many of us have risked becoming strangers to our own families as the result of work demands that made no space for weekends and evenings at home.

Health is all the rage in business these days. Which is to say that many companies are actively promoting healthier employee lifestyles. Or at least they’re trying.

You know that restaurant scene in When Harry Met Sally? No, not that scene. I mean the part where Sally orders her food prepared to minute specifications. I’m starting to do that. I suspect a lot of us are.

There’s a biology term – “circular mill” – that describes how a group of army ants, if separated from their colony, can wind up marching in an enormous circle, each ant perpetually following the ant in front of it.

Four years ago, I got a call that changed my life. It was an invitation to edit this magazine. And, initially, I said no.

Back when I was in college, my schoolwork came pretty easily to me, and like most young men, I thought I had life all figured out.

Editors are, as a group, given to tinkering. It’s part of what makes us good at what we do, and in many ways, an inherent aspect of who we are.

This fall, in the wake of what seemed like a relentless series of hurricanes and earthquakes, something hopeful rose out of all the chaos: our compassion – and with it, perhaps, a clarified sense of perspective.

I don’t think anyone would have predicted that I would grow up to be a science geek. I was a dyed-in-the-wool English major pretty much from the time I could read.

That old saying knowledge is power has always rung true with me, particularly when it comes to matters of personal health.

Do as I say, not as I do. Anyone whose parents ever tried that line on them knows just how ineffective such directives are likely to be at inspiring good behavior. Kids learn best by example. And, in fact, so do must adults.

One morning a couple of weeks back, I was running by a big plate-glass window in my neighborhood, and something novel happened.

This issue’s Satisfaction theme immediately brought to mind my favorite film, Fiddler on the Roof .

I used to have this ugly little habit – something I now refer to as looking for trouble.

When I was studying engineering in college, I learned that every material has a stress point.

Every spring, as soon as the mornings get warm enough for me to venture outside, I have this little sunrise routine: Still groggy from bed, I grab a cup of coffee and head out into the backyard.

Outside of establishing the vision for Life Time Fitness, and guiding the company toward it, one of the activities I enjoy most is being a pilot.

My first glimpse into the connection between personal health and planetary health came when I was a little kid, maybe 8 years old.

Over the past several years I’ve gradually been making changes in the area of green living.

It’s a funny thing. When you work for a “healthy way of life” company, people tend to presume that you do, in fact, have a healthy way of life.

A few weeks back, we gathered a group of Life Time Fitness leaders for a corporate retreat and brainstorming session.