MAN Magazine Winter 2019
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HEALTHY LIVING<br />
to let them linger on it<br />
too much. Try and make<br />
every day as normal as<br />
possible with your kids<br />
– cancer or not, none of<br />
us know how long we’ve<br />
got on this planet.<br />
I’m a big believer<br />
in you are what you<br />
eat. I’ve had cancer<br />
three times now. Sugars – a big no, no,<br />
they feed cancer cells – processed food,<br />
meat, and salt, you know it’s a minefield<br />
and we must take our diet and our health<br />
seriously. We’re no different to an engine<br />
in that respect – if you put the wrong fuel<br />
in the car, the engine will stop. Healthy<br />
choices are difficult when we’re all so busy<br />
trying to manage work and family, on<br />
the road, so we tend to take shortcuts to<br />
eating. But we’re becoming much more<br />
food-aware now, you see ‘pack-turners’<br />
in the supermarket, reading nutritional<br />
information- you didn’t see that five years<br />
ago. Thankfully the media is bringing health<br />
and nutrition to the forefront.<br />
YOU KNOW YOUR<br />
BODY BETTER<br />
THAN ANYBODY<br />
sevenstarmedia.co.uk<br />
The Dark Knight? Sir Richard<br />
Branson? My personal role model<br />
through my whole life is not a celebrity<br />
personality, but my close, high-school friend<br />
– Robbie. His tenacity, drive, his approach<br />
to deal-making and blue-sky thinking was<br />
always my inspiration. I have seen him<br />
starting successful businesses and crashing<br />
some of them, yet coming out stronger<br />
and more tenacious each time to build<br />
even better companies in Australia and the<br />
United States.<br />
The community I served with during<br />
my years in Australian Special Forces also<br />
inspired me. I always respected my peers<br />
and senior members and admired their<br />
“can do” attitude and ability to turn every<br />
negative to a positive. The “no nonsense”<br />
approach to getting a job done which<br />
my unit and colleagues instilled in me<br />
has always been my bedrock to this day.<br />
The ethos and determination I learned is<br />
ingrained and gives me my outlook to how<br />
I conduct my businesses and carry myself<br />
through life.<br />
When it comes to your health -<br />
you know your body better than<br />
anybody. I was too much of a bloke<br />
about it and swept it under the carpet for<br />
a year, during which time the cancer had a<br />
chance to thrive. Check it early, get it early<br />
and sort it early. If the pain persists keep<br />
pushing until you get answers.<br />
I was getting pains in my back and got<br />
misdiagnosed four times before we<br />
knew what was going on. Had all the<br />
usual blood pressure checks. Took the<br />
recommended pain relief meds. Got the<br />
all clear from blood tests. Third time to<br />
my GP I got a referral for x-rays and they<br />
came back all clear. Then I thought I’d best<br />
stop complaining even though the pain<br />
persisted. It was only when I – and my then<br />
partner – found a lump in my chest, that<br />
the doctors found the bones had been<br />
decaying from the tumours in my ribcage.<br />
And was told I had late stage four cancer<br />
of the chest and stomach with only a few<br />
weeks left to live. I had to change my<br />
focus, take the treatment, get determined<br />
and deal with the battle ahead. That<br />
was five years ago. I’m still here: seventy<br />
treatments and three operations.<br />
It’s not something to be feared but<br />
something that you have to do your best<br />
to overcome. Mind-set is 80% of the<br />
battle. It’s about having the right approach<br />
to facing the disease – the right diet, no<br />
sugar. Being determined. Never forget<br />
what you’re fighting for. I want to see my<br />
boys grow up and give them away at their<br />
weddings, then my job’s done.<br />
On a good day I feel great – I’ve had<br />
cancer three times in the past five years and<br />
I’m classified as terminal from a medical<br />
point of view. It’s thrown up a challenge<br />
for my mind-set to prove the doctors<br />
wrong. My children get me through. My<br />
businesses, my passion for life and making<br />
this brand the best it can be.<br />
No regrets – It’s humbling to be<br />
surrounded by so many amazing people<br />
at Mr Lee’s. I’m grateful to be learning so<br />
much on the journey with the business.<br />
And for the little wins – a customer<br />
writing on social media about how our<br />
product has made a difference to their<br />
life is sometimes bigger than a Mr Lee’s<br />
supermarket launch. I’ve built an amazing<br />
business alongside raising my boys. The<br />
disease has made me more determined.<br />
Focussed. Slowed me down in a good<br />
way – the things I used to think were<br />
priorities are no longer priorities. I used<br />
to put my family after work and now my<br />
family come first.<br />
www.mrleesnoodles.com<br />
<strong>MAN</strong> MAGAZINE WINTER <strong>2019</strong><br />
69
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