WHY MILLIONAIRES FAST

           Recently, I completed the twenty-sixth session of my life-long 10-day conscious preventative fasting. I've been practicing this simple and natural method of physical and mental cleansing and healing for ten years now - I engage in a 10-day fast two to three times a year, and each time I am convinced of its effectiveness and benefits: for the body, for the mind, and for my business.

           Why ten days specifically, and what does mindfulness have to do with it? The deep cleansing effect on the body and the rebooting of important physiological processes, as well as the emergence of a mental state which I will discuss further, are achieved precisely within 7-10 days of fasting. Short fasting sessions are quite popular today: ranging from 36 hours to three days. They are easier to endure, but unfortunately, do not yield the same results as a longer food pause.

            A ten-day fast provides prevention for many diseases - hence the name. On the other hand, abstaining from food for over 20 days is therapeutic; for such serious practices, serious reasons, preparation, absence of contraindications, and medical supervision are necessary. This is another level. However, the list of contraindications for the 10-day practice is very limited, and if you adhere to its rules (drink enough water, perform enemas and liver cleansing in time, etc.), there are no health risks.

            Why mindfulness? Because it implies that you consciously approach the process, perceive this practice as a gift to yourself, not torture. Moreover, you diligently perform all the prescribed procedures and adhere to the rules of exiting the fast. What are these rules? You can read about them in Paul Bragg's book "The Miracle of Fasting," which inspired me to embark on a food pause at one point. Or in my book "Fasting for Happiness: Diary of a Millionaire who Fasts," in which I share my years of fasting experience.

          Cleanse the Body and Mind

            I first entered a food pause in 2015 when I was actively experimenting, seeking a diet for healing and maintaining good physical shape. Already during the first fasting session, I realized that the result is not limited to just the physical aspect (qualitative cleansing of the body from toxins and improvement of well-being).

            In a little over a week, I achieved mental clarity and a state of unconditional emotional balance, which allowed me to solve complex business issues. Then I realized that fasting is also an effective tool for improving the quality of a company's work, and during subsequent food pauses, I became convinced that the practice has a cumulative effect.

            In 2015, we experienced a serious crisis in production due to the rapid growth of the business. A tangle of problems emerged, the solutions to which gradually, but very clearly, began to form in my mind from the fifth day of fasting. Upon completing the practice, I initiated the processes of restructuring the business and implementing regular management. Over the four years during which I engaged in a 10-day food pause two to three times a year, I managed to completely reboot the company, hand over the helm to management, and exit operational management, dedicating my time to creativity and startup development."

          Why Millionaires Fast and How It Works

            First and foremost, to reduce or completely neutralize the harmful effects of chronic stress on the body and the ability to think clearly. A businessman is a person of action and movement, whose brain is constantly under tension. For a live person, it is difficult to endure, so entrepreneurs (especially those dealing with large figures) often resort to various auxiliary substances that allow them to achieve an altered state of consciousness. Alcohol is one of them. Fasting is a natural and effective way to achieve such a state without harming health. On the 5th-7th day of the food pause, a very interesting state of inner calm, complete stillness, accompanied by a surge of strength and euphoria, sets in. I call this a global brain cleanse and mental reboot.

           What do entrepreneurs usually lack the most? Time and energy. There are millions of different types of consulting - for personal development and company development. But if you really lack energy, nothing will work, no matter how expensive a training course you buy. Energy is a limited resource that should be used purposefully, setting priorities. But when there is a lack of time, and the mind is cluttered with a heap of unresolved tasks, conducting an audit of your occupation and setting priorities is almost unrealistic. There's always something "buzzing": woke up in the morning, and you have to rush somewhere, do something urgently. If you don't do it - a sense of guilt. Fasting allows you to separate yourself from all this internal and external noise, make a pit stop, and look at your business (and in general - at your life) from a different angle.

         From Point A to Point B

          After ten days of fasting, life changes. It's like a journey from point A to point B, during which you better understand what you want, and most importantly - how to achieve it. That's why the first thing to do before starting the practice is to start a journal and write down tasks for yourself for the fasting session. The tasks consist of two main blocks: life and business. The main questions in the first block are:

• Do I have exactly what I wanted?
• Do I want my day, my week, my year to go exactly like this?
• Am I spending my energy correctly?
• Am I dedicating enough time to family, friends, my hobbies?

          You should think in such a way and try to imagine an image of yourself happy - gather together all the components of your personal happiness. Return to it throughout all 10 days of fasting and observe how this image changes.

          As for business - describe its current state with bold strokes today and outline the milestones for the future. During the fasting session, new details will emerge, unconventional intuitive decisions will come. As a rule, we have important decisions within us - they are deep inside, and we often lack the energy and concentration to bring them to the surface. Fasting provides both the energy and the required level of concentration, sharpens intuition."

        Fasting by Days

         The first day of fasting is a hustle and bustle. You're just getting into the practice, adjusting to the new state, getting used to the schedule of mandatory exercises and procedures.

         Some clarity comes on the second day. The body adapts to the new state. The most challenging is the third day - the transition of the body to internal resources. It's important to avoid strong physical and mental exertion on this day. I recommend spending more time outdoors.

         From the fourth day of fasting, a feeling of lightness and inner peace emerges. You can start active work with your journal: recording your states, jotting down questions that are relevant to you - both personal and work-related.

         From the fifth day onwards, answers will start to come. It's important not to miss them but to write them down - it's crucial. I often have insights during fasting sessions, especially at night. If you miss them and don't write them down, there's a risk of not remembering in the morning what you thought of so brilliantly.

        On the fifth day of fasting, it's worth auditing your work time: analyzing your standard actions throughout the day. This is an averaged timing that helps you understand how efficiently your energy is being spent. It's easy to do during fasting because you're optimized (your body optimizes energy). By looking at the list of tasks and the time spent on them, you'll understand which ones truly require your participation and which ones can be safely delegated without harming the process. Instead, redirect the time and energy freed up to those sectors of the wheel of life balance that have been neglected for years.

        Another useful exercise during fasting is auditing the team and processes in the collective. How effective are your employees? You can clearly feel that some people in the team are either ineffective or not yours. An interesting thing: from the fifth day of fasting, you can very accurately detect falsehood. It's impossible to deceive you in such a state. It was during fasting that I dismissed those whom not even a shadow of suspicion would fall on in a "fed" state. Any doubts or, conversely, pleasant impressions about employees should be recorded and taken into account in future work.

        During the fasting session, it's important to plan several strategic creative meetings for yourself. You can start holding them from the second day of fasting, but I recommend from the fifth to the sixth. "Hungry meetings" are a place to solve the most difficult business tasks, heavy projects, situations that have reached a dead end. It's where your hyper-efficient clean brain will generate ideas that you'll be amazed by after the practice: "Could it really be done like that?"

        By the tenth day of practice, you'll have a bunch of valuable achievements: a vision of your business in the medium and long term; a clear plan of action; understanding if the right people are on your boat; an assessment of your work time and the associated changes to use the owner's energy more rationally.

      New Habits

       Fasting is a point where you can radically change your habits. For example, quit smoking. I did it twice. Significantly reduce alcohol consumption, give up sugar, and so on. Besides, it's a great reason to return to sports because regular daily physical exercises are one of the mandatory components of a faster's schedule.

       Since the beginning of the war, I have started to practice fasting more often. They help me maintain emotional and mental balance, which is very important in life and in business to avoid making irrational decisions. Stress of this level is especially insidious - it accumulates imperceptibly and then manifests itself in the most unexpected and unpleasant forms. During fasting, you hear the same information as others, you're in the same reality as others, but all this mass of absurdity and negativity seems to pass you by, not touching you - as if you've plunged into a deep multi-day meditation.

       This practice can keep a determined achieving entrepreneur from the fear of stopping - for a whole 10 days to fall out of the work process, and in such a complex time for business! The good news is that there won't be any falling out. A 10-day food pause doesn't require any special conditions - you can continue working, going to the office, doing sports, adhering to the usual routine - of course, without overloading and with some indulgence to yourself, the faster.