Author: albert.valente@gmail.com

O.K. for most of your life you’ve been exercising, eating properly, getting enough sleep, supplementing, and limiting toxins in your life so you’re set to live to a ripe old age, right? Wrong.

It turns out there’s a major influence on our health that we were totally ignorant of until it came to the forefront about a decade ago– microbiome health. You’re not truly healthy unless you also have a healthy microbiome, those trillions of bacteria residing in your large intestines. Conversely a unhealthy microbiome predisposes us to many modern western diseases. It’s a contributing factor in higher prevalence of those diseases of aging.

Don’t despair, the biggest contributor to a healthy microbiome is merely to properly feed it. But, our current day western diet is actually starving them. Feed them well and they’ll feed you with beneficial compounds, starve them and they will actually eat you!

The Human Microbiome Project

This new awareness emerged after the completion of the pivotal Human Genome Project in 2008 when the NIH launched an equally enlightening project called “The Human Microbiome Project”. It first identified what comprised the human microbial flora and then went on to elucidate the roles of these microbes in health and disease states. The project was completed in 2016.  Today, we’re still sorting out what all of this means. But there has been a lot of lab studies on mice and even humans confirming this human/microbiome symbiosis and the best practices to optimize it.

Just what is the Microbiome?

You heard the expression that pregnant women are ‘eating for two’, well how about all of us are eating for 100 trillion. That’s about how many microorganisms occupy our large intestines. Sounds gross, but it’s actually a good thing.

Not only that, but a healthy adult has approximately 1,200 different species of

bacteria residing in his or her gut, some are bad, but most are good. These microbial residents have 100 times more genes than we do thus making us actually more microbial than human.

You may recall from high school anatomy that we have two types of intestines, the small and the large – the large is commonly referred to as the “colon”. The microbiome mostly reside in the colon, which contains about 10,000 times more bacteria than the small intestine. This places them at the very end of the food line. Most non-fibrous foods are consumed by us in the small intestines and never make it to the colon.

Consequently a healthy microbiota requires fiber by which to live and thrive. Since humans cannot digest fiber, it’s the only food that makes it all the way to the colon to feed the microbiome and they gladly feast on it.

But in our Western societies we’re just not eating enough fiber to feed these critters.  The average American consumes around 10-15 grams of dietary fiber per day. The USDA actually recommends 30-35 grams per day. By those measures we’re eating a third less fiber than the dietary experts say we should.

And that USDA number may be understated. After 200,000 years of evolution, it is believed by scientists that our ancient hunter-gatherer forebears, from which we co-evolved, ate on the order of 100- 150 grams of fiber per day. So, by those measures we’re consuming about 10% of what we’ve evolved to. We probably don’t want to consume the copious quantities of those tough fibrous roots those hunter-gathers did, but we do need to ‘up our game’.

An Incredible Symbiosis

O.K., so we have these bugs in our gut, but how does that possibly affect our health?  After all, we are at the nascent stages of our understanding our relationship with them. What scientists do know is that the microbiome affect our digestive health, our metabolism, our systemic immune function, our central nervous system, just about every part of our biology is affected by these microbes. Scientists further believe that many autoimmune diseases can be ameliorated by a healthy microbiome.

Inflammation is the Culprit of a Myriad of Diseases and It’s Affected by Your Microbiome

We coexist in close proximity to our bug friends, very close. In fact, the epithelial lining of our colon is only a single cell thick. That’s the barrier that keeps theses trillions of bugs within the gut from not invading our body.  Unfortunately, there are instances where this protective layer has breaches and is porous and allows bacteria to enter our body and trigger an array of immune responses.

In a healthy person, in addition to the epithelial lining there is a thick mucus lining that reinforces that epithelial barrier. So, the end goal is to keep that mucus lining as thick as possible.

Mother nature knows it’s risky to have trillions of bacteria only a thin layer away from our body, so it’s deployed a large number of immune cells along the tract. If fact there are more immune cells lining our gut than any other part of our body.

If we fail to feed the microbiome properly, those bugs will eat us. That is, they will take to eating that vital mucus lining.  Not that they want to harm their host, it’s the drastic measures they’ll take if they’re starving.  Whoops that’s a problem, they’re diminishing the very barrier that’s designed to keep them in the gut and not roam around our body.

When there’s a breech and living bacteria, or their dead parts pass through the barrier, our immune cells are activated and start to kill the invading microbes. The killing of the bacteria releases lipopolysaccharide endotoxins which gets into the bloodstream which causes a general inflammatory response within the entire body.

Many other diseases are also driven by this inflammation, such as cancer, metabolic syndrome, and many of the autoimmune diseases. Of note is that these diseases are less prevalent in societies where there is more fiber in the diet. It’s highly unlikely that of these different diseases each have their own unique cause. It’s highly probable that there may be just one upstream cause — inflammation.

In contrast, if there’s sufficient dietary fiber present, there’s plenty for these bugs to eat and they don’t touch the mucus lining – all is good in that aspect.

But a lot more benefit accrue to having a healthy, well fed microbiome. One benefit of feeding your bugs is that they’ll reward you with beneficial compounds, namely short chain fatty acids, or SCFAs. They eat the fiber and poop out the SCFA’s. Gut epithelial cells rely on SCFAs for energy.

The SCFA’s provide for a healthy epithelial lining thus keeping that barrier nice and tight, plus the mucus layer rebuilds to a healthy level providing more separation. General health improves with well-fed bugs that stay on their side of the barrier.

Some SCFAs will then enter the bloodstream which increase favorable T-regulatory cells which sets our immune response to a proper set point and not go haywire. Again, it’s an overactive immune system that can cause other diseases and autoimmune disease.  It turns out the same bacteria that can trigger an overreacting immune system can also calm it down. It all depends on what side of the fence they’re on and that’s determined by how well we feed them.

Shift to More of a Plant Based Diet

O.K., now that we’ve scared the bejesus out of you and you’re convinced you want a healthier gut, what to do?

The only real dial you have to turn is diet. That is, putting beneficial foods into your system and avoiding foods that are bad.

Since most plants are beneficial to the microbiome, it requires making a dramatic shift to a plant based diet. No, you don’t have to go totally vegetarian or vegan, it’s just that your plate should now be skewed with more vegetables than proteins and fats.

Don’t think you can just ingest copious quantities of Metamucil and get all your fiber. Science has shown that the more diverse a microbiome the better. Again, there can be as many as 1,200 different species of bacteria, each affecting us in a different manner and each requires a slightly different fiber to thrive on.

The way to foster a diverse microbiome is to eat a diverse array of vegetables and fiber. Each vegetable type will feed a different type of bacteria.

Brain Gut Connection

To orchestrate our whole digestive process, our gut has its own nervous system called the enteric nervous system is a massive web of 500 million neurons spread over the entire digestive tract often referred to as the ‘second brain’.

Further this brain system is also connected to our central nervous system through the vagus nerve, kind of a superhighway between the gut and the brain. Scientists are in the early stages of lab studies with mice to figure out what this all means.

Some lab studies find that mice with a microbiome have higher levels of Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor, BDNF, than a control group of mice without a microbiome. BDNF is important for learning, memory, higher order thinking.

Of particular note is that up to 80% of serotonin is made in the gut. Serotonin

is a neurotransmitter that affects our mood.

The hypothesis derived from these mice studies is that mental performance and elevated mood could be highly influenced by our gut.

Avoiding “Leaky Gut”

We already explained the permeability of the gut lining and the importance of the mucus layer. But there are some bold assertions out there as to how to protect that barrier further.  There are assertions that certain foods, like those high in lectins and the nightshade family and dairy products can cause gut permeability, or more commonly referred to as “leaky gut”.

Again, leaky gut occurs when there is a compromised gut mucus lining augmented by separations in the epithelial lining causing the bacteria and its parts to enter the bloodstream. As mentioned gut permeability can lead to a severe immune response and is a major contributor to autoimmune diseases.

The theory is that living plants develop lectins to guard against insects eating them, so it’s somewhat toxic. Lectins are proteins that we do not digest, so they travel all the way to the colon. Because lectins are sticky proteins, they bind to the gut wall causing severe irritation and ultimate permeability.

The advice from those pundits on this matter are to avoid foods that are high in lectin. The major groupings are many foods that we’ve been taught are good for us: legumes, and whole wheat.  Here’s a list of foods that are purported to be harmful to your gut:

If one is not able to eliminate these foods, than any attempt to reduce the intake may lead to better health. In particular, if you’re suffering from any form of autoimmune disease like asthma and allergies, it may be worth a try.

At the very least, when preparing these riskier foods, be sure to totally boil them. Lectins are water-soluble and typically found on the outer surface of a food. The high wet heat will inactivate most of the harmful lectins.

Offsetting the above, here’s a list of foods that are low in lectin and are favorable to your microbiome. Eat more of these:

A Word about Antibiotics

Antibiotics are a wonder drug, they’ve saved millions of lives since we started its use. However, when your illness is borderline, discuss with your doctor if it’s possible to forego its usage to see if you’ll heal on your own. If not, by all means take the antibiotics.

If your doctor agrees, not taking antibiotics will do your microbiome a world of good. Antibiotics are broad based, they’ll kill every microbe it comes in contact including all those good bugs you’ve worked so hard to culture.

So, if your infection is not severe, omit the antibiotics and let your good bugs live to take care of you in other ways.

Let’s get Dirty

We hesitate to write this section. As of this writing, the coronavirus is raging throughout the U.S. and countless lives are lost.

The universal prophylactic is to wash your hands for 20 seconds with soap. And that’s a good thing, we need to wipe out this deadly virus.

Sans pandemics, the concept we’re trying to get across is this. Since the

enlightenment that diseases pathogens can spread and we’ve gone from one extreme to another. From filthy conditions in poor parts of cities with dirty water where disease readily spread to being “over-sanitized”.

Unless you live on Love Canal, the dirt in your back yard safe, if you ingested a little of it, you’re introducing new bugs to create a diverse microbiome. If you grow an organic vegetable garden, you can eat the veggies right off the plant without washing and actually be healthier as a result. Something to keep in mind, someday where there are no pandemics.

Also, your pet is introducing differing strains of bacteria and you you’re not even aware of it.

Prebiotics and Probiotics

In a nutshell, probiotics are living cultures that we eat to introduce good bacteria to our gut. Prebiotics are the foods we ingest that will feed our microbiome.

Now, you can spend a fortune on both prebiotics and probiotics in supplement form. The concern is that they are not regulated. You could be getting good stuff, or totally wasting your money.

A better way is to go natural. You can find beneficial probiotics in fermented foods like yogurt, kefir, pickles and sauerkraut. Unfortunately, it’s not a once and done affair. Those bacteria introduced via probiotics tend not to stay, they’re eliminated. But they do a whole lot of good while they’re in your system, so it’s best to take some form of “natural” probiotic daily.

As for prebiotics, these are all those high fiber foods we’ve been talking about. But there are a couple of high quality vegetables like onions, chicory root, garlic and Jerusalem artichokes that are high in inulin, a particularly high quality fiber for your gut. So, eat more of these.

The Takeaways

O.K., if you’ve found religion that nurturing your microbiome will lead to greater health for you, human. We’ve boiled it down to simple steps you can adopt today:

• You’re microbiome is starving, you have to consciously feed it.
• Skew your diet to being more plant based.
• Add more naturally fibrous plants to your plate.
• Up your game, men should consume minimally 30 grams of fiber every day, women 24.
• When thinking of high quality fiber, think root crops like our forebears ate.
• Improve the diversity of your microbiome, by eating a variety of vegetables.
• Improve the diversity of your microbiome by eating what’s available seasonally.
• Ingest natural probiotics daily.
• If your doctor agrees, avoid antibiotics.

Bon appetite.

As a slight departure from our normal informative posts, here is a short story for your enjoyment. Bookmark it and enjoy it on your next airline flight.

We humans walk around with a bubble around us. We develop patterns of associating with our colleagues at work, our family, our small circle of friends. The rest are relegated in the non-touch connection of email, text, Facebook, twitter and whatever insulating technology comes our way.  With Jet travel total strangers penetrate our normal protective zones. In coach we’re so close we actually rub elbows. Most of us want to remain isolated but, every once in a while that unlikely stranger sitting next to us can flip our world…

Ninety-five passengers, mostly millennials (formerly labeled yuppies), were congregated around gate 32 preparing to board a flight from Boston to San Francisco and most likely on to Silicon Valley. The raw brainpower of this group will certainly impact the future.

Practically every passenger had their faces buried in some form of electronic device: smartphone, tablet, or laptop. They were answering their emails, checking their companies’ stock prices, or playing Candy Crush or Angry Birds. A few were doing actual work like software coding or polishing a sales pitch.

Amidst all this technology was a stately older woman, Regina. She was a smartly dressed, divorced, and an African-American seventy-something reading a hard cover book entitled “The World is Flat” and jotting notes in the margins.

She possessed certain air of confidence, of worldly knowledge gained through both formal education and a life filled with hard knocks. She was completely unintimidated by the surrounding youth and all their technical prowess.

At the agents’ counter Jack, a forty-something, testosterone-abundant, over-caffeinated exec, was trying to bully his way into getting an upgrade on the last remaining first class seat.

“I’m sorry sir”, said the agent, “it’s a first come first serve basis, see those names on that computer screen up there, you’re fourth in line for that one seat.”

“That’s garbage!” said Jack, “My Company gives your airline a lot of business; I’ve personally logged in 200,000 miles in the past year alone — I need that seat to do my work!  I can’t work in coach.”

“Terribly sorry,” and with that she gazed her eyes down to the computer screen as a subtle way of indicating that ‘this discussion is over’.

Jack threw his luggage bag over his shoulder nearly hitting the passenger behind him, picked up his computer bag and huffed off.  He was the founder and CEO of a three-year-old software company based in Cambridge.  He was on his way to Sandhill Road in Menlo Park to make a pitch to some VCs to secure mezzanine funding.

Jack’s anxiety about the VC meeting ignited his short-tempered behavior. It wasn’t meeting the powerful money brokers that bothered him, he had enough testosterone to go toe to toe with them. It was something deeper, more visceral. There was an angst in his gut and he couldn’t figure out why.

The loudspeaker rang out, “American Flight 211 to San Francisco will now begin boarding at gate 32…”

So began the long, slow process of passengers herding down the Jetway to board. The process was painfully slow as they tried squeezing overstuffed bags into the overheads.

The plane was an older model 757 without the personalized touch screens on the back of each seat; it had the older ceiling drop down screens. Not a bother to this crowd since nobody would be watching anyway. The one good observation Jack made was that there was a satellite phone in each row; he could check in with the office.

Jack impatiently shuffled his way through the aisle to row 24 seat B. “Great”, he thought, some snot-nosed techie kid has the window, and there was Regina cozily seated in the aisle seat, he was stuck in the middle. “When I get back, I’m going to kick Mary’s ass” he whispered to himself.  Mary was his assistant, although young she was smart and efficient, but was only given 24 hours’ notice to book his ticket on a full flight. Jack just sat in the middle brooding.

He strapped himself in, crossed his arms and was generally in a foul mood. He needed to prep tomorrow’s meeting, but his laptop needed to be stowed under the seat until the O.K. was given.

The jet roared down the runway, there was liftoff, the steep climb angle, and soon they were banking the turn over Winthrop to head on a westerly vector.

After what seemed like an eternity, the pilot finally came on the intercom, “Folks, we’ll be climbing to 35,000 feet and our route to San Francisco is clear. Our computer model indicates we’ll be landing perhaps 15 minutes early, so there shouldn’t be any issues making connections. Flight control has indicated smooth air the whole way, so I’m going to turn off the seat belt sign, but, as always please keep them fastened when in your seat as we could hit unexpected turbulence. Seat back, enjoy the flight and I’ll check back with when we get closer to San Francisco.”

With that, Jack flipped open his laptop. Finally, he could settle in and get some work done. He was going to finalize his slide deck for the VC pitches. The first group was set for 9:00am tomorrow, the flight time was precious to prep, there would be little time in the morning.

The beverage cart arrived and the flight attendant asked what they all wanted. “Coke” said the nerdy window seat kid. “Coffee black!” snapped Jack.

Regina, with credit card in hand, said “I’ll have two white wines, please”.

Sipping her first glass of wine, Regina settled in to make the most of the 5 hours remaining on the trip.

Ignoring the movie being shown, the passengers were absorbed with their own laptops and tablets.  This is a crowd that doesn’t stop.

Having savored her first glass of wine, Regina was feeling really tranquil and melted into her seat; she leaned as far back as the seat rest could possibly recline. She was genuinely happy, content with this stage of her life.

She retired two years ago after a 40 year teaching career at what is now Northeastern’s D’Amore-McKim School of Business. As a professor of management and entrepreneurship, she constantly honed her craft and stayed current with all the Boston business news, especially about the high-tech businesses which propelled most of the economic growth out on Rt. 128.

She allowed the pleasurable thoughts of arriving at her destination to bathe her. Her only child, Caroline, lived in Palo Alto with her husband. They both had fabulous jobs at Apple and had enough space in their home for their 10-year-old daughter and a guest room for Regina’s regular visits.

Regina was looking forward to some quality time with the family.  She was leaving Boston where the mercury hovered in the twenties to go to Palo Alto which hardly ever dips below 40 degrees, a welcome relief from February.

In the next seat, Jack had his laptop open and was working on his slide deck. The key phrase on this screen page was “Paradigm Shift” and of course his product was going to be the new, new thing, a world changer, a disrupter, he was searching for unique power words.

He was entering that slippery slope of foilware. Words like ‘breakthrough’ are too trite, he needed to totally electrify the VCs. Of the thousands of presentations given by budding entrepreneurs on Sand Hill, every adjective by now has become totally hackneyed.  Shit, even “Paradigm Shift” was hackneyed – what to use?

Regina downed her second glass of wine, it had the effect of making her affable, and she sought conversation to shorten this long flight. Did she dare strike up a conversation with this type A, self-absorbed egotist sitting next to her? Oh Hell, why not?

She gently inquired, “Interesting claim, what product do you have that’s such a ‘Paradigm Shift’?”

Jack looked up at her, slightly taken aback.

“Sorry, your screen’s so big I couldn’t help but notice.”

Normally Jack would be really pissed at the interruption, but he pondered the question. He recalled, years ago, going to a management training seminar put on by one of Tom Peter’s seminar leaders – the best way to deconstruct complexity for succinct communication is to pretend you’re explaining it to a child – it forces you to break it down to its simplest, clearest nature.

He wondered, could this work with old ladies too? This may be precisely the right exercise to codify what he is trying to explain to the VCs.

“Well we don’t have a deliverable product yet, it’s still into development”, he replied.

“So, what will it do when it’s finally completed?”

“We’re still working on the name, but functionally it’ll be a knowledge navigator.”

“A knowledge navigator?”

“Yeah, the knowledge assets, or treatises, on just about every topic from medicine to science, to business practices is donated by crowdsourcing similar to Wikipedia. But the difference is we offer a grid of atomic labels. When you pass your cursor over a label on your screen, a snippet appears. To the researcher, it may be close but not quite what they’re looking for, then they move the cursor to the right, left, up down, and even at diagonally until they’re getting warmer. Then they expand that module to its new grid and you repeat the process, navigating through all these modules until you land upon the exact one you’re seeking.”

“Oh, kind of like a 360° Dewey Decimal system.”

“Yeah that’s it, a 360° Dewey Decimal system!” ‘How the Hell did she label it so quickly?’ He thought to himself

“But won’t it take a long time to create or curate all the knowledge?” Regina inquired.

“That part’s taken care of by crowd sourcing, we’re developing the AI engine that can scan a page and slot its components into the appropriate grid position. I mean, even the founder of Wikipedia never believed that ordinary people would post accurate articles without an extreme editing by an editorial board. Plus those ordinary people are posting articles that are so arcane that professional researchers couldn’t possible come across.”

“So, you’re adding a navigation tool that’s better than hyperlinking?”

Jack couldn’t believe he was conversing with this total stranger about the soul of his product, not only a stranger, but an old woman. He went on.

“Sure, just imagine you have a vague concept like the earlier computer operating systems before Windows. You would use Windows as your starting point, then you keep moving your cursor until MS DOS appears, and you know that’s the thread you want, you keep moving in that direction and Apple IOS appears, and you know that’s not it, you move 45° to another module and CPM appears and you know you’re on the right path. So on, and so forth until you get to the root of your research.”

“Sounds fascinating, I could have used that when I was researching my papers”

“Your papers?”

“Yes, when I was writing my dissertation at UMass. It took two years. Most of my time was spent, not so much in writing, but in walking the stacks, sifting through all the publications to find topics related to my thesis; I had index cards on top of index cards.”

“So, do you think what I described would have been a help?”

“If you create in reality what you just described, it’ll be a sea change.  I can imagine researchers navigating quickly through an infinite amount of decoupled knowledge to derive the precise threads they need for their work. Google brings back a result for a specific query term, but if the sought after information is too abstract one could head into the general direction of where it feels warmer I think that’s where true informational serendipity could occur there can be more breakthroughs.”

Jack thought, Hmm, may I should have her write my presentation, Jack thought, she can articulate it far better than I can.

Regina interjected, “So, are you presenting to a customer?”

“No, to VCs.”

“So, you’re pitching for money?”

“Right.”

“If they invest, they’ll want a chunk of your company, right”?

“Oh yeah, a big chunk”.

“Why a big chunk, I mean your product is a ‘paradigm shift’, they should be lucky to get in on the ground floor, shouldn’t they?”

Just then, they were interrupted by the Fight Attendant who had the drink cart. “How we doing here, need a refresh.”?

“Yes, I’ll have another white wine, please,” and Regina reached for her credit card.

Jack broke in, “This one’s on me, and I’ll take two vodkas and a can of club”. With that, he paid the fare.

He was silently pondering the question asked by this total unlikely stranger who unwittingly was now a factor in on his argument to raise money tomorrow. ‘Why a big chunk?  Money is good but at what price?’

“You see – by the way, what’s your name?”

“Regina”.

“I’m Jack.” With that he stuck out his hand. Regina shook it. The ice was broken.

“You see, Regina, our product isn’t totally developed yet, so it’s riskier, so investors will want a bigger percentage of the company.”

“I get it. The further along a product is developed, the higher the odds that it will work, hence lower risk. Late money to the party gets less equity stake. Conversely if it’s just vaporware, that’s betting on long odds, they’ll want your company and your first born.”

“Yeah…yeah, that’s it”

“So, they’ll give you the money you need to finish your product. Hopefully, they’ll write you a check and let you get back to work without butting in”.

“Oh they’ll butt in all right. First, they’ll put iron rails around how their funding can and cannot be used, most likely they’ll want it earmarked solely for marketing and sales, and they’ll want to get it to market fast”.

“First mover advantage, and all that, that’s how Amazon got started. Then every dot-come start-up in the late nineties used the term ‘internet speed” to get to market first.”

“Something like that. Then there will be the dreaded Friday afternoon calls for a status report on how much progress is being made; there will be pressure to cut corners to meet the ship date.”

“Every Friday? Can a lot of progress happen in just one week? I mean you’re ‘shifting paradigms’ here”.

“There will be a lot of arguments, and a lot of compromises on product features.”  Jack felt his voice fall off, like for the very first time he was visualizing the circumstances he was heading toward.

“You know, when I was teaching, I followed all the Cambridge and Route 128 tech companies:  Lotus, EMC2, Digital, Data General, Biogen, and all of the rest. What I observed is that there’s a lot of very smart competitive people out there. I’m not sure first mover advantage is all it’s cracked up to be.  I mean in 1979 VisiCalc was the first computerized spreadsheet and four years later was easily eclipsed by Lotus 1-2-3 then Excel; although it had early market share, Yahoo search got totally trumped by Google. First movers can get to market first, but ultimately it’s going to be the best product that will win the war.”

Jack paused reflectively…”So, where did you say you taught? “

“I didn’t. But after completing my PhD, I taught business and management at Northeastern for 40 years.  My laboratory was the Boston Business Journal and the Globe business section. I’d also read the local case studies that were published in the Harvard Business Review. As an academic, I found the high-tech business world all very fascinating.”

Jack was astonished. It was baffling, but no brutally honest VC, consultant, or colleague hit him with the naked truth that struck like a sledge hammer, as did this elderly lady.  Who would have thought?

He sat silently, still. He suddenly felt he was way off course.

The wine had a soothing effect on Regina, she pushed her recline button and pushed the chair back as far as coach seat would go and just let her eyes lids soften.

Jack didn’t go back to his PowerPoint; he folded the lid on his laptop, he was pondering the whole purpose of this trip from a totally new perspective. He knew in his inmost soul that the product, to be truly great, needed a lot more development. If he walked into that room tomorrow odds are he would get the money and then the pressure would be on to start shipping sooner rather than later. Ship a shitty product that would be first, but not best…not by a long shot.

As the jet engines droned on, he peered out the window. At 36,000 feet above the hubbub at ground level, in a cell phone free zone, as the wispy clouds drift by below, one gets transported to different perspective.  His mind was contemplative, did he lose his way?

Regina was still asleep, Jack was now solely focused on the Why? Why was he seeking money? What were the founding precepts of his company? What is the true value-add of this nascent product?

After much torment, he gained a sense of calm. There was an option, in fact the only option. He paused for a moment for one last double-check his logic. O.K., let’s roll, he thought.

Jack pick up the phone off the seatback in front of him, swiped his credit card, and dialed Raj’s direct line.

Raj was Jack’s CTO.  Ten years ago he graduated 3rd in his class from the Indian Institute of Technology which some would argue graduates higher technical talent than MIT or Cal Tech. Jack was able to lure Raj away from Google with a substantial equity offering. So, any decisions Jack made will have a financial impact on Raj as well.

“Hey Raj, greetings from 36,000 ft up somewhere over west bumfuck America.

“Hey Jack, wassup? How’s the pitch coming? ”

“I’m not going to do it”.

“Not going to do it…not going to do what?”

“You’re going cancel all of tomorrow’s meetings; I’m not going to hold out my rice bowl for their blood money”

“Okaaaaay…”  Raj was totally befuddled and trying to assess the ramifications of what Jack just said.

Raj knew that Jack could oftentimes be short with people, especially those that didn’t ‘get it’ quickly enough. Although very decisive, Jack never made an important decision without thinking it all the way through, and he was usually right, but this was out of left field.

“You’re on the plane…and in mid-flight, you just changed your mind. What the fuck, are you on drugs?”

“No, let’s just say I had an epiphany. Look it, if I go to that meeting tomorrow, yes, we’ll most likely get the money and give up a huge equity stake. But worse, will we be free to finish the product? By our definition? No. They’ll want to rush it to market to get their first. But if we do that. We’ll be first to market with a piece of shit. Yeah, we’ll have 6 months, maybe a year of euphoria of reading the press clips on how smart we are to be first with a navigator. Then out of the blue, a competitor trumps us with a better, less buggy version and then we’re second best.  Then Google or Mark Zuckerberg thinks they can make an even better one and with their deep pockets they probably will”.

“Wow why such a doomsday scenario all of a sudden?” Raj could see that Jack was cogent, but seemingly manic. “You’re the drumbeater saying we were going to change the world”. So, you’re not optimistic anymore?”

“I’m more optimistic than ever, but shipping this product before it’s ready violates what we set out to do – make a truly elegant product, a game changer, the envy of Steve Jobs: “Insanely great”.

“But we were banking on that money coming in, I’ve got creditors pounding at our doors, how are we going to make it?”

“We’re going to make, we’ll work day and night, I’ll take another mortgage on my house to get us by, I’ll sell my Tesla”.

“O.K., O.K., I’ll call the VC’s and cancel your appointments”.

“It’s not a cancellation, it’s merely a postponement. One day we’ll take their money not because we need it, but because we need their cache to go public with a great product”.

“So, tell me, Jack, who or what brought on this divine intervention?”

“It was brought on by an angel.”

“An angel?”

“Yes, there’s an angel by my side”.

Overhearing, Regina lips curled up ever so slightly in a smile.

It’s a new year when most younger people make resolutions to better themselves. But it begs the question: do older folks also need to make resolutions and goals?  If you believe there is no “exoneration” in old age and that the secret to a short life is to “live it wide”, you had better get off your duff and make those resolutions and goals, read on.

Why do we make Resolutions in the First Place?

Why do people make resolutions in the first place?  We humans are strange creatures indeed. We take a perfect circle that really has no beginning nor end, and we pick a particular spot in the earth’s rotation around the sun and declare that is the beginning of the next revolution – very presumptuous on our part.

In the northern hemisphere it begins roughly at the beginning of winter. How does that make sense? Those folks in the southern hemisphere have it so much better. At least they have warmer weather by which to act on their new resolutions.

Anyway, it’s all about “new beginnings”.  O.K. so we screwed up last year, we didn’t accomplish much, if fact we picked up even more bad habits, and what about that extra 20lbs we’ve added to our girth? Not a problem, everyone gets a fresh start.  The earth just hit that magical point in its journey and we can start over.

Should seniors set New Year’s resolutions?  Is there anything else to improve upon?

Let’s say you’re 65 years old, you’ve been setting resolutions probably since you were 15. So that’s 50 annual resolutions, hopefully you’ve set a few good habits out of the 50 so what’s left?  Eat more spinach? Kind of lame at this age.  You’re probably coming up empty.

You’d best ask your closest loved ones. They’re the one noticing you’re tuning into a curmudgeon or a cranky old bitch as you age.  That would be a good resolution – “be less cranky”.  And that’s only the beginning, certainly they can come up with even more.

Should seniors set annual goals?

When we were young, we made more than a resolution, we set multiple “goals” for the entire year. We delineated:

• Earn 20% more by year end.
• Max out my 401(K) matching contributions
• Lose 10 lbs.
• Run a half marathon.
• Climb Mt. Washington.
• Ask Mr. drop dead handsome for a date.
• Vacation in Costa Rica.

Again, you’ve been doing this for 50 years, does it even make sense to go through another Tony Robbins style goal setting workshop, what’s the point?

There’s no Exoneration

Well, one could make a strong case for exoneration.  That is, we’ve earned the right to a listless, unplanned life without setting deadlines upon ourselves. After all we did that our entire lives. Right? Wrong?

Authors Phil Stutz and Barry Michels address this concept in their book “The Tools”.

According to Stutz, we all have a fantasy of a “magical something” – a new relationship, a promotion, recognition, or possession that will remove us from the “treadmill that is real life”.  For boomers that something is most likely “retirement” where you no longer have to do anything.

But Stutz postulates that the ultimate obligation is to make an effort for the rest of your life.  So the release of obligations, or exoneration, is impossible. When, inevitably, this false hope for “easy street” is shattered, we’re left demoralized. This is an inescapable law: exoneration always ends in demoralization. This is not the way you want to spend our last years.

Furthermore, that wise ancient stoic, Seneca, advised that since life is short, we must therefore “live life wide”. What the heck does living wide mean? It basically means don’t waste another minute cram as much life into each and every day we can.  Climb Machu Picchu this year, don’t wait for next, you may not be around.

Back to goal setting for Boomers. Even at our advanced age we should sit down and think deeply about what we want to accomplish in the next year, write it down, review often and commit.  It’s nothing new, you were a pro 20 years ago. Do it, remember there’s no exoneration.

With that, may your new year be rich in experience…and very wide.

Stimulating the body’s own HGH production can reverse Somatopause, remove fat, add muscle, and take years off your appearance, and perhaps extend longevity because it’s nature’s way, it’s safe.

Capsule: For you boomers, imagine one day a drug that will make you look 20 years younger, remove 15 lbs. of body fat, add lean muscle mass, increase your cognitive functions including memory, give you a healthier heart, increase your bone density, and elevate both your mood and your libido. Well, actually that drug is here now and it’s called, human growth hormone (HGH). The injecting of HGH is popular among the Hollywood cognoscenti but it’s expensive and risky. However, there is a way tap into this amazing fountain of youth naturally…

The Long Steady Decline

O.K., so you’re 60-years old and have been sedentary your whole adult life, but you weigh only 15 pounds more than you did at age 30 so you’re O.K. right? Wrong.

Meet HGH, a powerful hormone that keeps us lean, young and strong and keeps all our biomarkers in the healthy range. With enough of it you can stay young and vital long into your elder years.

Unfortunately there’s a pivot point right around age 30 where there is a marked drop in your body’s natural production of HGH which, if unabated, will continue to decline for the rest of your life. This condition is called somatopause.

This precipitous drop in HGH leads to a severe drop in lean muscle mass and an increase in adipose tissue especially in the belly. On average, without proper exercise people will lose 10 lbs. of lean muscle mass per decade after the age of 30.

So, the aforementioned 60-year-old may only weigh 15 more pounds, but in actuality he/she lost 30 lbs. of muscle! Add that onto the gain of 15 lbs. and he/she actually has 45 lbs. more visceral fat – not a healthy condition.

Don’t be depressed, there are positive actions you can take to reverse this trend of HGH loss, read on.

From Hollywood to Main Street

If you want to know what’s truly hot and fashionable, look to Hollywood. Many aging actors have been regularly taking human growth hormones for years to remain thin and attractive for their careers. This was originally made known in a March 2012 article in Vanity Fair.

Although far from being a mainstream phenomenon, it is estimated that about 30,000 Americans are shooting up with HGH, a rapid rise from the estimated 2,000 that were doing so in the mid-1990’s.

One of the reasons is that HGH is more readily available now that biotech companies have learned to synthesize it through recombinant DNA technology; previously the only source was natural HGH from human cadavers, an obviously rare and expensive supply.

Somatopause – The Boomer Belly

Older people face a double whammy. Although they work out at the gym regularly and seem to be constantly dieting, as they age they lose more muscle mass and gain more body fat especially around the middle. Those long cardio sessions can’t seem to get the midriff reduced past a certain point.

This malady is called “somatopause” (So-MAT’-a-pause).  Somatopause is signified by energy decline, weight-gain (usually around the middle, and hips), loss of muscle, and wrinkled skin. Other symptoms include energy decline, a rise in LDL cholesterol and a lowering of the good HDL.

Somatopause is related directly to the decline of HGH being produced by the body by the pituitary gland as we age. It is an extrapolation of the term “menopause” and applies to both men and women whose natural production of HGH started a steady gradual decline since age 30 and continues to decline for the rest of their lives.

So, it begs the question, if somatopause is caused by the body’s natural decline of HGH, what if we were to increase the HGH in our system, would that reverse its effects? By most observations, the answer appears to be yes.

It All began With a 1990 Journal of Medicine Article

The late Dr. Daniel Rudman of Madison Wisconsin along with a team of researchers made a startling discovery in July 1990. They performed experiments on men age 61 to 81 to determine if HGH could cause a reversal in symptoms were succumb to during aging.

One group was given subcutaneous injections of HGH while the control group was not. HGH cannot be measured directly because it is detectable in the blood for only a few minutes; therefore they measured a byproduct called IGF-1 (Insulin Like Growth Factor). The more IGF-1 in the system, the more HGH is there as well.

At the start, both groups averaged less than 350 U per liter of IGF-1. After 6 months, the group given the HGH injections had levels of IGF-1 in the range of 500 to 1500 U per liter, a level found at a much youthful age, while the control group still remained at the original 350 level.

What was more astonishing was that with no other variables, there was: · An 8.8% increase in lean body mass · A 14.4% decrease in adipose tissue, aka body fat · A 1.6% increase in vertebral bone density.

It was concluded that the drop in natural HGH levels is directly responsible for much of the observable effects we call “aging”. And furthermore, that aging’s effects could be reversed if the level of HGH could be maintained at a higher elevation. This is the finding that launched a thousand ships and explains why today you get all those spam e-mails trying to sell you HGH and HGH releasers over the web. Who doesn’t want the fountain of youth?

The Vanity Medicine

There are roughly 74 million baby boomers in the U.S. alone and in contrast to previous generations that have reached older age, this generation is determined to remain young and vigorous. They seem to be looking for that magic bullet, or pill they can take to keep their looks and vitality. Should that magic pill be regular subcutaneous injections of HGH cost anywhere from $500 to $1,000 per month and carry unknown health risks?

Risks of Artificial HGH

If taking a pill, or in this case an injection, for prolonged youth seems too good to be true, well, you’re probably right.

A respected source about anti-aging is Dr. Nicolas Perricone, a Yale affiliated dermatologist. In his book, The Perricone Prescription, he clarified the findings of the original Rudman studies as follows:

“As exciting as these results were, there was a downside. Subsequent studies using injectable growth hormone at similar doses to the first study found unacceptable side effects . . . The studies were extended to a period of a year or longer and researchers realized that prolonged supplementation could induce diabetes, arthritis or carpal tunnel syndrome, making the results very disappointing…Supplementation with injectable human growth hormone is still very experimental and we have not accumulated enough data to assure its safety”.

He goes on to explain that HGH is basically good, it’s the means of injecting high doses of HGH that causes health risks, therefore, it’s best to mimic our own body’s production of HGH.

Dr. Perricone goes on to say:  “Another very new and exciting strategy for growth hormone supplementation is to use amino acids or small peptides to trigger the body’s own release of HGH from our pituitary. This is a much safer method because we have normal feedback mechanisms and controls over a hormone when it is being produced by our own bodies. ”

Read our post:

The Promise of Successful Aging — An Interview with Superstar Dermatologist/Nutritionist Dr. Nicolas Perricone

Luckily, there are alternative ways of raising the HGH levels without costly injections and one of those is the neighborhood gym.

Look Younger and Lose Weight with HGH — The Natural Way

It is widely believed that certain forms of exercise will stimulate the body’s natural production of HGH in older adults. Since the body seldom produces compounds that will be harmful to itself, what better way to enjoy the benefits of HGH invoked youth without the health risks?

According to Phil Campbell, author of a fitness book, Ready, Set, GO! Synergy Fitness, natural HGH production can indeed be stimulated to produce outstanding physical results. He cites 160 biomedical research studies in his book.

Read our post on how to boost HGH naturally:

Stay Youthful by Biohacking Your HGH through Sprinting

His presents a new regimen which focuses on high-intensity training (HIIT). Such training, combined with proper sleep and diet, can spur the pituitary gland’s “pulsing” output of HGH. Campbell calls such HGH goosing a natural anti-aging regimen. And he stresses “natural”.

Anaerobic Exercise Should Be a Part of Every Fitness Routine

“The focus is not on endless hours of aerobic exercise, but on the incredible benefits of anaerobic exercise on the body’s hormone release system.

Short bursts – lasting 10 to 30 seconds – of intense activity can induce your body to naturally release HGH growth hormone by 530%, which is the substance that keeps you looking and feeling young.

The reason older professional athletes keep playing beyond their time, is due to the anaerobic exercise that they perform during practice. Anaerobic exercise – the hard and fast, sprinting types of exercise – is shown by medical researchers to make the body produce significant amounts anti-aging growth hormone,” says Campbell, and this keeps older players strong, lean and muscular”.

“Growth hormone is given to children with clinical stature growth problems to help them grow normally,” says Campbell, “however, it does not make adults grow taller, but it does reverse several measurable clinical factors of the middle-age spread, which has been named ‘the somatopause’ by researchers.”

“Anaerobic exercise should be a part of every fitness routine,” However, he cautions that physician clearance and a progressive build-up of the high-intensity exercise is necessary to prevent injury.

Conclusion

Youth and fitness are an associated pair. Conversely, pharmacology is closely associated with disease. Nature should always be preferred over drugs. Mankind’s quest for the fountain of youth may lie not in a bottle or in a syringe, but in the grunts and groans of intense exercise.

Yes, aging may be inevitable, but there is one proactive action you can take dramatically slow the process down.

As we age, we experience hormonal changes to the body, but one in particular has a multiplier effect — and that is human growth hormone (HGH).  Our bodies produce a lot of it when we’re kids and in a growth stage and then when we’re done growing it diminishes quite rapidly and continuously.

Why Should we care?

HGH is a naturally occurring hormone produced by the pituitary gland. It aids in cell regeneration, and cell reproduction. It helps to maintain, build, and repair healthy tissue in the body, brain and organs.  Professional athletes and body builders realize that it helps to build muscle mass, boost metabolism, and burn fat for optimum physical performance.

But the net of it for us normal people is that HGH is a youth hormone and higher levels of it purportedly have anti-aging effects.

HGH levels Decline with age

How much does it decline? A lot!  For example a pre-puberty youth can produce about 1,500 micrograms of HGH per day, entering adulthood, the level begins to drop to about 20% at age 30. Elderly people can only produce about 50 micrograms per day, or somewhere around 3.3% of that early baseline.

What can we do about it?

Well, we can ignore this fact and keep getting more frail, and wrinkled. Or, we can try to boost our HGH to maintain our strength and vitality. Although HGH injections are available, let us suggest a natural means to boosting. It’s called high intensity exercise.

FitCommerce was first made aware of this concept by a contributing article by personal trainer Phil Campbell. This was shortly after he published his seminal book: Ready Set Go! Synergy Fitness.

In case you missed it, here are some excerpts.

Clinical Research

There is a continual degradation of functioning cells that is commonly referred to as “aging”. The DNA and the cells they reproduce are no longer perfect copies but are damaged copies. Many age-related diseases are also attributed to this occurrence.

In one study, researchers compared HGH levels in several ways — resting (for a baseline measurement), after a 6-second cycle sprint, and after 30-second cycle sprint. Researchers also measured growth hormone for hours afterwards to see how long HGH stayed in participant’s bodies after exercise.

The key is that this is an anaerobic exercise, which is at an oxygen deprived state rather than an aerobic exercise which supplies plentiful oxygen such as jogging.

The 6-second sprint method elevated HGH somewhat, but didn’t come close to the body’s release potential. The 30-second all-out effort sprint experiment increased HGH by 530% over resting baseline and 450% over the lesser intensity 6-second sprint.

Like earlier research studies, HGH stayed elevated for 1.5 to 2 hours after the sprinting program. And according to the researchers at the University of VA, the HGH released during exercise targets body fat for up to two hours after training.

Anaerobic sprint workouts can be performed in many different ways — cycling, swimming, skiing, running, XC skiing, to a lesser extent power walking. It can be performed in the gym on an elliptical trainer, stationary bike, recumbent bike, or a treadmill.

FitCommerce Takeaway

HGH is a powerful anti-aging (and anti-middle-aging), body fat reducing, muscle toning, hormone in your body. And this vital hormone can be increased by 530% with specific types of anaerobic fitness training. Natural is always better, don’t take injections or supplements until you try this method.

Coincidentally, David Sinclair, the noted Harvard researcher on why we age and how to prevent such, suggests that our bodies benefit to certain types of stress to stimulate pathways to reduce aging. Of the several, the two simple ones he put forth were intermittent fasting and exercising until you’re “out of breath”.  A nice tie in to Phil’s theory.

A FitCommerce suggested protocol

Here’s a suggested protocol that we here at FitCommerce subscribe to (for the warm months of the year if you live up north).  Find a well maintained soccer or athletic field that is devoid of anything but soft grass, or find a nice beach.  There’s added benefit if you also sprint barefoot.

Mark off about 100 yards. Sprint as hard and as fast as you can for the 100 yards, or whatever you’re capable of. You will be totally out of breath, then walk back to your starting place, you’ll recover your breath on the way back, then do it all again.  In the beginning you may only be able to do this 2-3 times, build up to 5-6 times twice a week.  Make this a habit for life.

At age fifty-something Phil Campbell used to sprint up the stairs at a football stadium. This is for you hardcore jocks that really want to push the envelope.

 Simple Habits to Slow Down the Effects of Aging

About Phil Campbell

M.S., M.A., C-PT, American College Of Sports Medicine, A certified personal trainer, Phil Campbell works with athletes to improve speed and agility. He also spent two decades of his career as a senior hospital administrator where his access to renowned researchers and scientists enabled him to infuse his training systems with hard data. He is the author of Ready Set Go! Synergy Fitness which can be purchased on Amazon.

By nature, we human sapiens evolved to be cyclical creatures. And when we work, play, or create in bursts with sufficient down-time in-between is when we’re most productive.  But when we take on a task marathon style without breaks is when our productivity and creativity craters. The principles of periodization training in exercise can also be applied to other aspects of our lives – it’s all about stressing ourselves physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually followed by sufficient recovery that is the secret sauce to boundless energy, joy and full engagement. In this interview Tony Swartz, co-author of the Power of Full Engagement teaches us the basic principles. Read on.

Good Morning, Tony, your book The Power of Full Engagement has certainly caught our attention in that it not only offers a new personal life management paradigm, but productive habits that minimize bad stress and over-work are a crucial ingredient to “wellness”.  Interestingly, it draws from proven techniques in athletic training.  How did you ever make a connection?

Tony Schwartz:   “My partner, Jim Loehr, is a sports psychologist who 25 years ago began working with world-class athletes to help them perform better under pressure – everyone from Pete Sampras to Ernie Els to Dan Jansen to Eddie Cheever.  When Jim and I began to work together, it dawned on both of us that the demands high performing executives were facing vastly exceed those of any athletes Jim had ever trained.  Our clients get far less time to “practice” than athletes do, they have a much shorter off season and they have to sustain careers for many more years than athletes do. ”

“Time is finite . . . Energy, on the other hand, can be expanded “

Now, in a nutshell, how do you define “Full Engagement”?  And even though we may think so, why are most of us not fully engaged?

Tony Schwartz:   “Fully engagement simply means “firing on all cylinders” – being physically energized, emotionally connected, mentally focused and spiritually aligned.  Most of us get disengaged simply because the demand in our lives begins to exceed our capacity – a function both of the growing pressures we all face and the inexorable process of aging.  That’s why training is so important: it’s the only way to build and sustain capacity.”

Can you say a little more about the four dimensions of energy?

Tony Schwartz:   “Sure.  At the physical level, which is fundamental, we’re talking about the quantity   of energy. At the emotional level, it’s the quality of energy from negative to positive. At the mental level, it’s the focus   of energy. And at the spiritual level, it’s the force of energy. All four forms of energy are necessary, none is sufficient by itself. ”

Most of us today are fairly skilled in “task management” with our day timers, iPhone apps and checklists, some of us may even practice a Steve Covey method of using quadrants of “importance” vis-à-vis   “urgency”, but your book places the emphasis in managing energy and not time. Can you enlighten us?

“Whatever you invest your energy in gets stronger.  Anything you stop investing energy in atrophies and eventually dies. Energy is fundamental to everything we do.”

Tony Schwartz:   “Time is finite. We have only 24 hours in a day, 168 hours in a week. Most of us don’t have any more time left and we’ve done about everything we can think of to use our time more efficiently.  Energy, on the other hand, can be expanded.  The research is clear, for example, that you can take an 80 year old woman, expose her to resistance training 20 minutes a day three days a week, and in a matter of a few months, she’ll dramatically increase her strength. The same is true about other domains of our lives.  Whatever you invest your energy in gets stronger.  Anything you stop investing energy in atrophies and eventually dies. Energy is fundamental to everything we do.”

“In order to be fully engaged — and maximally productive — it is critical to periodically disengage. “

We’ve all been programmed to be linear. That is, if you work an 8 hour day you’ll have so much output, so therefore if you work a 9 hour day, you’ll have that much more output, or if you skip that 15 minute break, you’ll have 15 minutes more output, but you challenge this notion, can you please explain? 

Tony Schwartz:   “All great athletes understand the concept of periodization – the managing of work-rest ratios. In order to be fully engaged — and maximally productive — it is critical to periodically disengage.  The culture we live in disparages renewal and recovery and celebrates continuous work.  People use words like “crazed” and “overwhelmed” with a certain pride in describing their lives. Think about it: is being crazed or overwhelmed truly healthy? The most powerful way to sustain high energy is to take intermittent periods of rest throughout the day.  That could be as little as a few minutes, so long as the disengagement is complete. Answering your email isn’t a particularly good way to restore energy, for example. Getting up, taking a walk, working out, hydrating, eating something, or making a phone call to a loved one are all ways to change channels and refuel the system – not just physically, but also emotionally and mentally.   ”

“The best way to recharge mentally is simply to turn off the switch – to get off the thinking track”

Many of our readers may be aware of interval training in fitness, but you say that the principles of interval training also have applications in the emotional, metal and spiritual realms. Can you give us examples? 

Tony Schwartz:   “The point is that we not only get depleted physically in the course of a day, but also emotionally, mentally and spiritually.  A good friendship is a source of emotional renewal.   So is listening to music.  The best way to recharge mentally is simply to turn off the switch – to get off the thinking track.  It’s interesting that most people say they get their best ideas when they aren’t consciously thinking – in the shower, or while taking a run, or while puttering in the garden.  Spiritually there are many sources of renewal – prayer, meditation, journaling, time spent in nature, being of service to others.  The point is that we can’t simply expend energy constantly. Instead, we need to think of ourselves as sprinters rather than marathoners.  Fully engage for a period of time, and then fully disengage.  That’s critical in every dimension of our lives. ”

“We need to think of ourselves as sprinters rather than marathoners.”

We were particularly moved by your notion of “Realistic Optimism”. It sounds like a difficult balancing act. Can you explain the notion and why it’s so important? 

Tony Schwartz:   “We believe deeply in the value of holding opposites. Optimism is an expression of positive energy, which all kinds of evidence suggests is critical to high performance. Having said that, unfettered optimism may simply be a form of stupidity.  You don’t want to be driving towards a brick wall at 60 miles an hour and feeling optimistic that you won’t hit it.  That’s where realism plays a critical role.  Realistic optimism means recognizing the facts in any given situation and then focusing on the most hopeful and empowering potential outcome. ”

“You know a ritual is in place when you no longer push yourself to a particular behavior and instead feel pulled by it.”

Some of our readers may have to deal with behavior change such as in the diet and exercise arena. But you harp upon the power of rituals and its impact on behavior change. Can you explain its importance?

Tony Schwartz:   “We are creatures of habit and we tend to resist change.  Will and discipline turn out to be wildly overrated. Only 5% of our behaviors are consciously self-directed.  The rest we do automatically or in reactively in the face of a demand.  If you have to think about something for very long you won’t do it for very long. Rituals are highly precise behaviors that become automatic over time. When it comes to fitness, for example, it is critical to have fixed times and days for working out, and a clearly defined routine.  You don’t want to waste precious energy getting yourself to a task that is already difficult or deciding what exactly you are going to do.  Rather it should become as automatic as brushing your teeth.  You know a ritual is in place when you no longer push yourself to a particular behavior and instead feel pulled by it. ”

These are new and unfamiliar notions you put forth in your book. How have you measured success as to whether these techniques actually work? 

Tony Schwartz:   With athletes, we measure by the numbers.  They aren’t interested in anything but results. With executives and other professionals, we measure success by helping them to define very clearly the outcomes they are seeking, and then return to them periodically to see how exactly how they are doing and how others perceive they are doing.  Our most powerful evidence is the incredibly high percentage of people we see who swear by our work and keep coming back to work with us.  What we’re offering is a training system for life.  No athlete would expect to be able to compete at the highest levels without training regularly. Why should an executive or a teacher or a lawyer expect to excel over time without working the muscles that serve their professions – not just biceps and triceps, but also muscles such as patience, compassion, integrity, commitment and confidence.  ”

Tony, where can this go? Are there any new ideas incubating in your mind to evolve this approach going forward? 

Tony Schwartz:   Over time, my dream is to deepen and extend this process – to build a cadre of people who are committed to lifetime training in all dimensions, and who are willing to invest time and energy in that pursuit year in and year out.  Ultimately this means focusing not just on changing specific behaviors, but on understanding and overcoming the resistance that inevitably arises along the way. It also means beginning to think of ourselves as whole human beings – recognizing that the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual dimensions of ourselves all influence one another, and must all simultaneously be cultivated to live rich, complete lives.”

 Thank you, Tony.

About Tony Schwartz

Tony Schwartz is a best selling author and a nationally recognized authority on performance, change and growth. He co-created LGE Performance Systems’ Corporate Athlete® Training System. He is also co-author with Jim Loehr, Ed.D.,  The Power of Full  Engagement

Tony has been a reporter f

or the New York Times, an Associate Editor at Newsweek, a staff writer for New York   and Esquire Magazines   and a columnist for Fast Company. In 1988, Tony co-authored The Art of the Deal with Donald Trump, which became an international bestseller. In 1995, Tony wrote What Really Matters: Searching for Wisdom in America   and in 1998, co-authored Work in Progress with Michael Eisner, chairman of the Walt Disney Company.

Tony has lectured widely, leading keynotes and workshops for senior executives at companies including AT&T, Salomon Smith Barney, The Estée Lauder Companies, McDonald’s, CSFB/First Boston and the Thomson Corporation, as well as for organizations including the Harvard Business School, the Weatherhead School of Management and the Episcopal Church Pension Fund. Tony has appeared on many radio and television programs including Good Morning America, Charlie Rose, CBS News and National Public Radio.