Last December 15th, after a break in achieving my daily goal of 10,000 or more steps per day and at least 5 miles in the process, I walked 11,177 steps and 5.3 miles. Little did I know that I was beginning a string that has continued until today. Yesterday marked the 150th consecutive day in what has now become an ongoing personal challenge and goal. The results are summarized here.

I have been walking and exercising for decades. In all those years, I have never accomplished the consistency like this during these past 150 days. During this time, I have had to be focused on the goal. The period includes:

1. The Christmas holidays, during which it is always easy to ease up
2. Management interview in Miami in mid-January
3. A trial in New York in late February
4. A client visit in Washington, D.C. in late February
5. An arbitration hearing in New York City during the first and weeks of March
6. And then, of course, the pandemic-mania we have all experienced since mid-March

Following the arbitration in New York, during which I was in a room with about fifteen people in Lower Manhattan for several days, I went to Florida. The arbitration was actually stopped because two of the panelists lived in Westchester County, which was experiencing rising cases of COVID-19, and they did not want to return to the City. The last day of the arbitration was held using Zoom and I was cross-examined via Zoom for the first time ever.

When I left New York, I went to my place in Port Orange, Florida to quarantine. That next week, we sent our folks at Mercer Capital home to work remotely and I worked from Florida. After a few weeks, during which there was talk of travel bans, crossing state lines and the like, I carefully returned to Memphis and I’ve been in Memphis since then. Pickleball was shut down shortly after I arrived in Florida, so I was left to my own willpower to get feet on the ground and to walk. I hope to return to playing pickleball soon.

The one constant during these last 150 days is that, after I accidentally got to 30 consecutive days, I wake up each morning thinking about what has to happen in order to get my miles and steps. I won’t say it is an obsession, but it is definitely at the forefront of my thinking. I sent a short Rx for walking 10,000 steps per day in a LinkedIn post a couple of weeks ago. I’ll end by sharing it here.

COVID Health and Sanity: Rx for 10,000 Steps per Day

1. Upon arising, run/jog in place for 10 minutes (about 1000 steps), and do a bit of exercise.
2. Walk 15-20 minutes mid-morning (1500-2000 steps).
3. Walk 15-20 minutes after lunch (1500-2000 steps).
4. Walk 15-20 minutes mid-afternoon (1500-2000 steps).
5. Walk around house or office during day when need to stretch (1500 steps +/-).
6. Play a sport in evening or walk rest of 10,000 steps.

Make adjustments for bad weather. Modify Rx if your goal is greater or less than 10,000 steps.

Coming Books

The third edition of Business Valuation: An Integrated Theory is scheduled to ship via John Wiley & Sons on September 21st. Travis Harms, my coauthor, and I are excited about getting this book out to the valuation world. More about this publication later.

I’m also excited that my new book, Buy-Sell Agreements: Valuation Handbook for Attorneys, is in the final stages of editing and should be available either late summer of early Fall. This book is available for pre-order.  It contains draft template language for four valuation process mechanisms for buy-sell agreements. It is written from business and valuation perspectives and is based on my experience over many years reading and working with buy-sell agreements.

Be safe and be well!

Chris