The May Cover…

The May issue of Endurance Magazine is such a super cool one! It was quite an adventure putting all the photography together, and getting time with some impressive Senators – if you’ve been following this blog, you’ve heard a lot about it, lol 🙂

The photography shoots continued after Endurance went to press, now for my Rangefinder Magazine article, which will be out in June. So more to come!

This Endurance piece, written by Editor Joe Nuss, is timely and smart – As a lifestyle, health & fitness magazine, it’s pretty amazing to think about the fact that those concepts feed directly into two of the most important policy issues of the Presidential campaign – healthcare and the economy.

And, always, always, the perpetual power of of possibility.

Why is lifestyle so important when it comes to our economy? According to a recent Health Affairs report, total health care spending in the US was $2.3 trillion last year, or 16% of the gross domestic product. And that’s increasing – expectations are $4.2 trillion in 2016, or 20% of the GDP. Even more compelling, the CDC reports that 1 in 3 children born in 2000 will develop diabetes in their lifetimes.

As the article references, just as anti-smoking campaigns transformed our society’s views of cigarettes, we now need to transform our views of Extra Value Meals and sedentary lifestyles… before we confirm current projections that we are raising the first generation that is not expected to live longer than their parents. Wow. How you live really, really does matter – not just to you, but to your family, your loved ones, your country & this beautiful global community of ours 🙂

Regardless of your candidate of choice, some thoughts….they differ on policy, but I think they are all kinda saying the same thing about personal lifestyle:

“Americans also benefit from healthy environments that allow them to pursue health choices and behaviors that can help ward off chronic and preventable diseases. Health environments include sidewalks, biking paths and walking trails; local grocery stores with fruits and vegetables, restricted advertising for tobacco and alcohol to children; and wellness and educational campaigns.” — Barack Obama

“Today, we pay doctors and hospitals to treat diseases and injuries, but not to help prevent them from occurring in the first place. In fact, our country spends only an estimated 1 to 3 percent of national health expenditures on preventative health care services and health promotion per year. That is about the same percentage we spent in the 1920’s.” — Hillary Clinton

“The ‘solution’ my friends, isn’t a one-size-fits-all-big-government takeover of health care. It resides where every important social advance has always resided – with the American people themselves, with well-informed American families, making practical decisions to address their imperatives for better health and more secure prosperity.” — John McCain

Basically, the bottom line is the same: Live well. And, while you’re at it, what the heck: Love well, too!

(p.s. – If you live in North Carolina and Indiana, your particular opinion is needed – get out there and vote!!)