Chetwyn, Len. Australian Soldiers Running … Re-Enactment of the Battle of El Alamein, 24 Oct 1942. Imperial War Museum 

I figured we’ve spoken a good deal about courses and pathways (and Carl Sagan, apparently), and I believe we should finish off this Newsletter with another equally vital concept. We know the path, we know its direction, but we must all eventually walk it by turning plans into action. The pathway to implement the economic cures created by Technocracy Incorporated requires endurance. It will go on for thousands of kilometers, and there is little chance you will find a shaded spot of refuge along its side. That is why, as Technocrats, we must not only develop our minds and knowledge of the facts of life when it comes to today’s modern problems and modern solutions, but we must also take care of our health so we can continue to put forth our effort the best we can for as long as we can. Even if you happened to memorize every word of The Study Course or Words and Wisdom forwards and backwards, you won’t be able to help us if you’re in an iron-deficiency coma or if you pass out before a speech because you stood up from your chair a bit too quickly.

That is why I believe it should be a necessary component of being a Technocrat that we each maintain active, healthy lifestyles throughout our day-to-day operation (appropriate for our individual age and physical capabilities, obviously). Being young and with no physical impairments myself, I do my part by running about twenty miles a week at night and eating bananas by the bushel like a monkey to combat my otherwise high sodium diet. I walked laps through the hallways of my university’s building while I read up on nuclear warfare to prepare for this Newsletter. I scuba dive, I got a blackbelt in Tae-Kwon-Do years ago, played tennis, and in college I took Krav Maga on top of my ROTC physical obligations. At my most recent two check-ups I was complimented by both a doctor and two nurses for being one of the most tiptop-shape patients they’ve seen in a while, and my ‘auditory perception’ is apparently off the charts. If my research gets funded to allow me to start my PhD in Idaho, I will probably pick up snowboarding.

Soldiers take care of their equipment to make sure its combat effective, and we should all take care of ours as well. I am not asking you to go ascetic and live off of sunlight or to be resistant to car accidents. Just live as healthily as you can for as long as you can. Begin with simple things, like not standing near ionizing radiation—that’s a start! Limit the number of unhealthy substances and activities you introduce to your body and increase the number of healthy alternatives. Simple measures, done in a way you can enjoy or endure for a while, will go a long way, and the positive effects will multiply themselves down the road. Easy things, like ordering your luxury coffees with half-syrup or watering down your sodas, doing your required reading while walking down a safe neighborhood road or listening to an informative podcast while jogging, and getting regularly checked-up by medical professionals when financially able to do so are easy ways to add months—maybe even years—to your life.

A healthy body is a wealthy body. As we talk about Technocracy Inc., we lay out the necessary resources and functions an Area or Continent needs in order to be self-sufficient and run well. In the same way, you must acquire the proper nutrients and physical activity to allow your body to run well too. Down nutritional drinks. Drink water by the soup ladle. Practice a healthy lifestyle and proper mental hygiene to keep your minds shining and polished. Such a regimen will bestow positive mental and physical effects on you, and potentially save you from unnecessary expensive and lengthy medical interventions down the road.

And remember, people will look at you as their first impression of Technocracy Incorporated. So what example are you going to give? Are you going to look like a superhero who just flew in from the clouds? Or will you be face-down on the sidewalk and panting halfway through the conversation? As we walk down this road, you could very well one day become Group, Section, or even Region Leaders, guiding your Memberships down the path like Sir Lawrences and Misses Lawrences leading your forces across the Nefud Desert. You must essentially become unstoppable, and I know each and every one of us has some way to help ourselves grow closer to our ultimate capabilities—starting with an apple a day.