Life Lessons From The Next American President.

Excerpts from an exclusive interview with Barack Obama.
By: Peter Moore - Mens Health Magazine.

Name: Barack Obama
Occupation: Next president of the United States
How he makes a difference: Showing how health and fitness can drive your success

You have to grant Barack Obama two things: He has accomplished a meteoric rise to the verge of vast power, and he's managed an innovative political organization that energized millions of people and raised even more millions of dollars. And regardless of where you stand on his fitness to be president, he has the fitness part of it down pat.
And on those grounds you can learn a lot from him, even if you didn't flick the lever for him on Election Day. Here's some of what we learned in an August interview.
 
Lesson 1: Learn from your father, even if he wasn't a good one
 
"Somebody once said that every man is either trying to live up to his dad's expectations or make up for his dad's mistakes. And I'm sure I was doing a little bit of both. But I feel that somewhere in my late 20s or early 30s I sort of figured out what his absence had meant. It is part of what I think has made me a pretty good dad. I don't think it would have too much of an impact on my decision-making as president. There's no doubt that it has contributed to my drive. I might not be here had it not been for that absent father prodding me early in life."
 
Lesson 2: Be there for your family, even if you're not around

"I don't miss the important things. I haven't missed a dance recital. I haven't missed a parent-teacher conference. But there are some things I do miss, and those are some of the tradeoffs you make. But, look, there's no question there are sacrifices involved here. I'd like to say that quality time replaces quantity, but sometimes it doesn't. You know, a lot of the best moments of family life happen spontaneously. If you have less time to devote to them, there are fewer of those moments. What I've been able to do is create a zone of normalcy for my kids. Michelle's been wonderful about that. I have been able to transmit to them my absolute interest in them and my absolute love for them."
 
Lesson 3: Manage your time, manage yourself

"I'm part of an organization," he says, "and one of the things I really try to push in the organization is to make sure that everybody is focused on the two or three things that are really going to be game-changers. I ask them to design my schedule in a way that focuses not just on what's coming at us, but on being active instead of reactive. I think we've been pretty successful. I don't spend a lot of time returning phone calls or e-mails. If somebody needs something, most of the time there's somebody else who can handle it. Eliminating TV has been helpful." Wait, a confession: "I'm still a sucker for SportsCenter," he notes.

Lesson 4: Think.

"The most difficult thing is to carve out time to think, which is probably the most important time for somebody who's trying to shift an organization, or in this case, the country, as opposed to doing the same things that have been done before. And I find that time slips away."

Lesson 5: Quit smoking (as often as you need to)


"There wasn't some dramatic moment [when I quit]," he says. "Michelle had been putting pressure on me for a while. I was never really a heavy smoker. Probably at my peak I was smoking seven or eight a day. More typical was three. So it wasn't a huge challenge with huge withdrawal symptoms. There have been a couple of times during the campaign when I fell off the wagon and bummed one, and I had to kick it again. But I figure, seeing as I'm running for president, I need to cut myself a little slack."
 
He does have advice for people, like him, who are wrestling with the dependency. "Eliminate certain key connections—that first cigarette in the morning, or after a meal, or with a drink. If you can eliminate those triggers, that should help."
 
Lesson 6: If you want to avoid disappointing others, don't disappoint yourself


"I always try to make sure that my expectations are higher than those of the people around me," he says. "A lot of people have a lot at stake in this election. The American people are having a tough time. And I never want people to feel as if I've overpromised to them. I try to explain in a real honest way how difficult some of the changes I'm talking about will be. But I never want the effect to be that I'm not working as hard as I can on their behalf . . . that I'm not continually trying to improve. I'm actually glad for the high expectations. One of the interesting things about a campaign like this is that it really does push you to the limit and then some. And it turns out that you have more in your reservoir than you expected."