# Chapter 244

As I wrote yesterday sleep produces the best returns in life, hands down in my opinion. The second best decision that will produce great gifts in your life is exercise. I have exercised pretty much each day for the last 26 years. And I mean pretty much every single day. There are few days that I miss, and those usually due to international flights or long road trips where my days are disrupted and I have zero control of my schedule. But as soon as I arrive at my new destination I establish a workout schedule and routine. Because it gives great returns on that investment.

The first gift is that it works perfectly in tandem with sleep. It increases the quality and depth of your sleep, which in turn will make you faster and stronger the following day and which will make your sleep better and deeper and which . . . well you get it. Together they make a great one two punch. And the secondary gift of the exercise as it is connected to sleep is that it gives you a rhythm to awake and to sleep that is powerful. You go to bed earlier and get going earlier in the mornings. This side/secondary benefit deserves it own blog post it is so good and so helpful.

The second gift that exercise has always given me is multiplication of my time. It makes every working hour two to three times as productive, because as least in part, the clarity that follows exercise. You can think more clearly and with less emotion and with more clarity than non-exercisers can and do. I have a 26 year track record of living this. Trust me, this is awesome. Plus it is one of the things that helps you stay on track with daily exercise, this great gift, is one that you want to experience over and over again.

There are third and fourth gifts as well, but on another day. Its time to workout!