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It was 1:30 in the morning, and the house was pitch black… Suddenly, our bedroom door flew open. Jagger raced into our room, screaming at the top of his lungs. My heart was pounding out of my chest. Courtney and I were completely shaken because we didn't even hear the baby gate or our bedroom door open. And just like that, the next chapter of little Jagger's sleep training began… We thought we were out of the woods after a couple of good nights. When the midnight screaming started up again, we found a check-in tool that worked like magic for about two weeks. I'd walk him back to his room, tell him, “Daddy's going to be back in a little bit,” and leave while he fell asleep. Then, Jagger cracked the code… I tucked him in and gave him my usual line. He sat straight up in bed, wrapped his tiny hand around mine, looked me dead in the eyes, and said, “Come too. Come too!”
Rats… Part of me was proud of the little guy for problem-solving on the fly. The other part of me realized our sleep plan was officially in disarray. When you're exhausted at 1:30 AM, it's easy to throw your hands up and say, “This stuff isn't working.” The reason I'm sharing this with you is because I've seen people do the exact same thing with their health for the past 23 years. Whether it's meal planning, a bedtime routine, lifting weights, or getting daily steps, most people try a new strategy once or twice. If they're lucky, they try a third time, hit a wall, throw their hands up, and say, “Oh, well.” If you truly understood how vital healthy sleep is, or any of the Five Dominoes, you wouldn't stop at the first, third, or tenth attempt. You'd treat it like a puzzle. When the old trick stops working, you adjust your approach until you solve it. With a two-year-old, you can't just lecture them about stress and sleep. You have to give them tangible tactics. First, I taught him how to calm his nervous system by “smelling the roses and blowing out the candles.” Even though tactically we want purely nasal breathing, this works wonders for a toddler. Second, I taught him how to “flip the channel” on his active little mind. We treat his pillow like a TV remote. When he's scared of “spookies” in the dark, he physically flips his pillow over to change the channel in his head and puts on Danny Go! instead. He's not back to being the total sleep champion he usually is, but he's learning to self-soothe. We solved the puzzle for now, and the whole house is sleeping again. Soon enough, he'll grow, the puzzle will change, and our strategy will have to evolve right along with him. Take an honest look at your own Five Dominoes today: Breathing, Water, Sleep, Movement, and Eating. Ask yourself two simple questions: Where did you give up prematurely after only one or two tries? And which single domino would give you the highest ROI if you went back and solved the puzzle today?
PS: Even a guy with degrees in Engineering and Behavioral Economics gets outfoxed by a toddler at 1:30 AM. Next week, I wouldn't be surprised if Jagger starts negotiating his bedtime ROI using Kona and a piece of cheese. |
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Hey Reader, It was Tuesday morning at 6:00 a.m. inside the Astoria gym. The room was dead quiet, and I was holding a warm mug of strong black coffee. My client Eric, the president of his company, walked over and picked an ab roller up off the floor. “What do you think about this?” he asked. I smiled and told him it was actually mine. Eric looked at me, completely surprised, and said, “Do you use it?” “I used to use it when I was a young trainer trying to impress other trainers,” I admitted. “Back then, I didn't know any better…” Eric had seen all the flashy workouts on Instagram that catch people's attention. I told him that most people think about aesthetics when they train their abs, not actual function. Unless you're a competitive gymnast, you don't need ridiculous core strength, you need a core that supports your back. The reason I'm sharing this with you is because the risk-to-reward ratio on flashy gym exercises is completely backward for high performers. My background in Behavioral Economics and Corrective Exercise taught me to always weigh the cost of a movement against the return. The ab roller puts massive strain on your shoulders and can destroy your low back for very little reward. And it's not the only exercise that belongs on the sidelines… If you sit hunched over a computer all day, the last thing you should do is battle ropes. They lock up your neck and shoulders, ruin your posture and breathing, and leave you with tension headaches.
Then you have sled pushes. Unless you're plowing wheat fields for a living, pushing heavy sleds puts your spine in a bad position and risks putting you on the sidelines.
Finally, skip the high box jumps. Unless you're a pro volleyball player, jumping on tall boxes past the age of 30 isn't worth a torn Achilles or a wrecked ACL just to impress your friends. People throw these random exercises into their routines, get hurt or burnt out, and then wonder why nothing ever sticks. Instead of risking your joints on explosive, flashy moves, stick to versatile movements that use your own body weight. A much safer, more effective exercise is the classic lunge. When you drive through your heels and flex your glutes, you build real-world strength and protect your lower back without wrecking your joints. The problem is that most people do them wrong. [Click here to watch this quick video and see if you've been doing lunges wrong your whole life.]
PS: Even a 7x Ironman has to check his ego at the gym door. What's one flashy exercise you've seen on social media that makes your back hurt just looking at it? Hit reply and let me know. 🙂 |
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Hey Reader, We were in the middle of a nine-hour road trip up north to take our two-year-old son, Jagger, to see his cousins for Halloween. As we climbed the steep grade of the Grapevine, I looked over at the Tesla screen. The battery showed 7% with 17 miles left. My wife, Courtney, looked at me and said, “We're not going to make it. There's no way we get to 7%.” We couldn't make that climb in 17 miles. Rats! In that moment, I thought about our past Ironman road trips up north. There's a reason we don't usually take the Tesla. Charging on a long haul is nerve-racking and stress-driven. On past trips, what I said never helped us. Usually, it hurt us. My reaction amplified the stress. You could hear the motor revving up against the steep mountain grade. Then came the dead silence inside the cabin. You could physically feel the tension in the air during those aggravating minutes. My nervous system wanted to go into overdrive. Instead, I took a breath and chose a different mental route. “Well, there's not much we can do now,” I told Courtney. “All we can do is drive.” It was a stressful 20 minutes. We watched the battery tick down from 7%, to 6%, all the way down to 4%… Then, we finally summited the Grapevine and started descending. The regenerative braking kicked in and started charging the drivetrain on the way down. We watched the screen climb from 4% all the way back up to 9%. We rolled into our destination with 7% battery to spare. Courtney laughed and said, “Oh, Tessie.” I let out a huge sigh of relief and thanked my wife for her personal growth over the years.
The reason I'm sharing this with you is because life is episodic… We experience similar situations over and over again. But, when we don't take an experience, extract the knowledge, and convert it into wisdom, we repeat the same mistakes… Why does that matter for your health? Because an over-revved, high-strung central nervous system is an “Invisible Tax” on your body. When you're “red-lining” your engine in constant stress, your body can't fully recover. If every point of friction in your life becomes a fight, you'll stay stressed all the time. And when you never recover, it's only a matter of time before sleepless nights, dysfunction, illness, or disease show up. You don't need more willpower to fix this. You just need to upgrade your Internal Operating System (iOS). When you turn recurring episodes into wisdom, you eliminate the friction. You give your body the chance to recharge on the downhill, paving smooth and fulfilling roads for your life ahead. This week, just pay attention to when life repeats itself. Notice when you're having the same arguments or facing the same problems. Take note of whether you're having the exact same response, or if you're ready to choose a calmer route. Speaking of choosing a new route, that's the exact kind of shift my LivFit 365 clients are making every single day. Instead of repeating the same old cycles of stress and burnout, they're upgrading their systems, eliminating the friction, and crushing their goals. Help me celebrate this month's rockstars who refused to stay stuck in neutral and paved their own road to success: LivFit 365 High-PerformersPlease take a moment to recognize the outstanding achievers who are building high-performance human systems. Kim Travis Kim's leveling up like a boss. By excelling physically, mentally, and spiritually, she's unlocking the powerhouse version of herself that was hiding inside. Phu Phan Operation Shredded is officially live! Phu returned to the fundamentals of steps and calories to torch body fat and engineer a Swiss Watch body. Yolanda Phan Forget solo cardio because Yolanda plays the long game. She uses family walks to stay 100 percent present, leading her crew from the front Glanda Phan Hold the phone, Glanda just proved the doubters wrong. She crushed a full year of dedicated fitness, building a sustainable system that never quits. Dr. Omar Guzman Omar just shifted his engine into overdrive. He's officially prepping for his first full Ironman triathlon, proving his human hardware has zero limits. Krystal Guzman Tongue on the roof makes you bulletproof! Krystal mastered her breath and tongue placement, upgrading the single most important survival skill of our lives. Anna Shad Anna's relentless growth just opened a brand new wing in her internal architecture. She unlocked massive rooms of love and presence she never thought possible. Fred Ghamari Fred is the undisputed king of the Lead Domino! He posted the highest First Domino Score while using his breath to savor deep stillness. Kristin Erickson Political chaos is no match for Kristin's upgraded operating system. She maintained total mental peace and clarity while navigating a wild campaign win! Yes Ordorica Returning to the office is a breeze for Yes. She deployed her new mental skills to thrive at work, turning a potential storm into smooth sailing. Mike Celeya Tongue on the roof makes you bulletproof. Mike mastered his tongue posture, leveraging the body's most underrated muscle to keep his nervous system locked in. Colleen Smith Colleen just unlocked the ultimate mental superpower. She learned to separate her passing thoughts from her true identity, evicting the inner critic for good. Mitch Moshe You can't think your way out of a thinking problem. Mitch leveraged his physical hardware to calm his mind, upgrading every single relationship in his life. Pooneh Manshadi Post that on Insta! Pooneh refuses to back down, fighting daily to expand her resilience tank and proving her internal armor is built to last Farhad Manshadi Farhad is knocking down the Survival Chain like a true engineer. After mastering breath and water, he's methodically conquering the Sleep Domino for a full system reboot. Karla Ceja Boom! Karla took second place in another race, proving she's faster, fitter, and operating at a level most people only dream about. Alex Flores Talk about the ultimate birthday upgrade. Alex stepped into a new year of life armed with deep presence, fierce determination, and elite mental skills. Diana Goltzer Pain tried to bench Diana, but she flipped the script. She found a way to keep moving despite the discomfort, turning daily exercise into pure joy. LivFit 365 Family Fitness CoachingPlease welcome my new families. Your success is why I exist. I promise to do my absolute best to ensure you succeed. Amita Guatan Welcome to the LivFit Fam. I'm grateful to serve you. LivFit Coaching Calls – Fridays (12 pm PST/ 3pm PST)Want the ultimate fitness cheat sheet? I've packed 23 years of experience into these sessions, giving you the tools and knowledge to transform your body and mind. No more wasted time, just pure, results-driven knowledge to help you eat right, train effectively, and make healthy habits stick. LivFit Live Group Workouts – Saturdays (8am PST/ 11am EST)Say goodbye to boring workouts and hello to a fitness experience that's as unique as you are! Our live group sessions offer a dynamic blend of everything your body and mind need: strength, cardio, flexibility, meditation… and maybe even a few laughs along the way.
P.S. Congratulations to all the winners of the LivFit Scholarship Giveaway! I look forward to teaching you how to use your body to overcome chronic stress. |
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Hey Reader, I told you I was going to send an email this past Saturday to announce the winners of the 17th Anniversary Scholarship. I didn't send it… I had the concept ready to go. But when Saturday morning rolled around, I looked at Courtney and my son, Jagger, and I had a choice to make. I could either spend my weekend chained to my phone working, or I could actually practice what I preach. I chose my family. I chose not to give them the leftover scraps of my energy. For 17 years, I have coached high-achievers on how to stop being “Ghost Parents.” People who are physically in the room but mentally miles away, stressing over work. If I had spent my weekend worrying about a marketing email, I would've been living in the exact “Scraps Economy” that I teach my clients to escape. So, I unplugged completely. And we had one of the best Halloween weekends of our lives.
As for the scholarship, I spent this morning reviewing the applications, and I was completely blown away by the response. Because the submissions were so incredibly personal, I decided it didn't feel right to blast the winners' names out to thousands of people. Instead, I'm reaching out to the winners privately this week to get them set up in The Full Battery Home program. The 17th Anniversary Scholarship is now officially closed. But I want to leave you with this: If you struggled to stay present this weekend, or if you constantly find yourself bringing the “Office Virus” home to the dinner table, I want to give you one simple tool to use today. I call it the Body Throttle. Most high-achievers transition from work to family at 100 MPH. You close your laptop and walk straight into the living room while your brain is still red-lining from the day's demands. You're physically there, but your engine is still revving, which makes you snappy, reactive, and exhausted. Here is the fix: Before you walk through your front door tonight (or the second you log off your final Zoom call), give yourself exactly 3 minutes. Close your mouth, glue your tongue to the roof of your mouth, straighten up and take a slow, 4-second inhale through your nose. You cannot out-think your competing demands, but you can use your breath to manually pull back on the gas pedal. Slow the engine down so you can actually show up as the person your family deserves, rather than giving them your leftover scraps.
PS: If you want to take this one step further tonight, try this: After you do your 3 minutes of breathing, leave your phone in your bag or a drawer for the first 30 minutes you are with your family. The emails will still be there later. Your kids' excitement to see you won't… |
