Must-Read: Lessons From the Rich and Fit

John McQuaig

One of the greatest (and most overused) pieces of advice is to find a role model that you respect and admire, find out what he (or she) did and does in order to be the person they are, and do that. While it’s better for the role model to be, you know, an actual person you know — as opposed to someone like, say, Charles Barkley, who has made it clear he’s not a role model — that doesn’t mean there aren’t lessons we can take from other people out there. For example, the grouping of guys that Men’s Health has put together that are rich in both health and actual literal monetary sense.

Here, to whet your appetite, is the beginning of the entry on John McQuaig:

A taxing ascent to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro in 2005 inspired McQuaig to write a book that compared building a business to scaling a mountain. In “Parallel Peaks: Business Insights While Climbing the World’s Highest Mountains,” McQuaig stresses the importance of having shared goals, of preparation and planning?all customary steps in climbing expeditions, but something that businesses often fail to do. (Studies show that only about a fifth of small business owners do strategic planning, despite evidence that it can be a big contributor to success.)

McQuaig says all entrepreneurs should have a “sherpa” to guide them through what is a very risky journey. But he warns them against taking anyone’s advice too seriously?or as McQuaig’s own sherpa on Mount Kilimanjaro, Peter Mata, advised him: “Write your own story.”

Dude is worth $28 million dollars, it should be noted. So yeah, he’s probably a guy to look at and take some lessons from.

He’s 17 on the list, I should add. So yeah, if you get a chance, there’s a worse way to spend your time this fine Friday morning/afternoon/evening/whenever-you’re-reading-this.