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Welcome to 4 Minute Fridays, my weekly newsletter where I reveal cutting-edge tips to help you get lean, boost energy, and live longer.

What's In Store For Today:

• 3 subtle signs of good health
• The mindset most predictive of success (according to science)
• I use these glasses to go to sleep every night

Today's issue is brought to you by ​High Performance Founder Private Coaching​.

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Anyhoo, while the vast majority of the comments were positive I did see an unfortunate trend.

A good portion of the 20-year-old population has adopted a mentality of learned helplessness.

This is when someone repeatedly faces uncontrollable, stressful situations but does not exercise control when it becomes available.

Symptoms of this include wallowing in self-pity, making excuses for why they're "stuck" in a situation, and other forms of self-defeating behavior.

And I don't blame them. Life can be harsh and unforgiving.

Something I wish I could tell them is to focus on the things they can control.

You can't control market conditions, other people, or the weather, but we can control our actions, reactions, and perceptions.

I realize how simplistic this sounds, and I'm sure 20-year-old Dan would scoff at me.

But that is one of the best ways I know to get myself out of a rut.

No matter what age you are there's always time to turn things around. I just wish more people held out hope for themselves long enough to see it.

That said...

Here Is Your 4 Minute Friday:

1. Three Subtle Signs Of Good Health

Something I love about the body is that it sends you signals to show if you're on the right or wrong path of health.

There are 3 particular signs that subtly tell you that you're in good health:

1. Clear eyes: If your eyes are red, cloudy, or yellow, your body is waving a red flag. It’s telling you to fix your sleep, stop overloading on junk/alcohol, or maybe just drink some damn water. So, clear eyes? They’re like your health’s way of flexing, quietly showing the world that you’re doing alright.
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2. Being able to stand up from a seated/cross-legged position without pain: This may seem like no big deal, but it's actually a low-key health flex. Being able to stand with speed and absent of pain means your muscles joints and balance are all working in sync. If you struggle with it it's a sign that your flexibility or strength may need a bit more love.
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3. Going to poo at the same times every day: This is a subtle sign that your gut microbiome is healthy. If you’re on a consistent schedule, your body’s basically saying, "Yep, I’m processing all this just fine." Your digestive system is doing its job, your diet’s on point, and you’re not dealing with any unnecessary stress.

Btw I borrowed these from a question I posed to my X audience. You can see the best responses on that thread over here:

What is a subtle sign of good health?

— Dan Go (@FitFounder) August 13, 2024

2. The Mindset Most Predictive Of Success (According To Science)

Researchers did a study on the factors that contributed most to success.

After observing 350k subjects over 22 years they found a thinking pattern began to emerge that was what they called "predictive of success"

That mindset was Optimism.

In these optimistic people, they found 2 ways of thinking that supported success:

1. They had an unrealistic expectation that they were going to succeed.
2. They would try new things until they succeeded.

If you've been receiving my newsletter for a long time, you know I often discuss this.

First, you need to have a crystal clear vision for your health and life. This vision will guide your actions.

Next, you need to develop an ability to perceive things as happening for you instead of against you. It is a big tool for navigating the eventual ups and downs you'll face when manifesting your vision.

❤️ My Favourite Thing This Week

For the past five years, I've been using bluelight blockers, which have been a complete game-changer for sleep.

They're like the guardians of your sleep routine—they kick out the troublemakers before they even get to the door.

You see, your body’s got this natural clock, and blue light (the kind from screens) is basically like someone shining a flashlight in your eyes, screaming, “Wake up!” when you’re trying to relax.

By blocking that blue light, you’re telling your brain, “Hey, it’s cool, you can start winding down now.”

This helps your melatonin levels do their thing, making it easier to fall asleep and stay asleep.

For someone like me, who watches screens at night, this has been crucial to entraining myself to go to sleep on time.

The ones I've been using are called Swannies, and you can get them from Amazon here.

Client Of The Week - V, Entrepreneur

V is an entrepreneur who struggled with his workouts and wanted to get rid of his belly.

In 12 weeks, he's dropped 20 pounds and got some abs!

Our Strategy:

• We focused on removing the junk and nighttime eating while changing the quality of the foods he was eating.
• We put his hunger on a schedule by attuning his body to his natural rhythms of eating.
• Our main focus in the workouts was to build muscle while using movement to burn a bit more fat every day.

V has completely transformed his body and has created a 2.0 version for himself and his family.

​Are you an entrepreneur who wants to drop the fat, gain muscle, and boost energy? Click this link to apply for our coaching program.
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One Quote to Finish Your Week Strong

When I first started at the gym I didn't have a goal of getting lean. I made the goal of showing up to the gym.

When I first started on social media I didn't have a goal of a million followers. I made the goal to show up to create every day.

When you're starting anything let go of the outcomes and focus on the most important thing: SHOWING UP.

Have a great weekend!

- Dan

When you're ready, here are 3 ways I can help:

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2. Are you an entrepreneur who wants to get lean, boost energy, and get in your best shape? Apply for private one-on-one coaching here.

3. Promote yourself to 315,000+ subscribers​ by sponsoring this newsletter.

References

1. Assi L, Chamseddine F, Ibrahim P, et al. A Global Assessment of Eye Health and Quality of Life: A Systematic Review of Systematic Reviews. JAMA Ophthalmol. 2021;139(5):526–541. doi:10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2021.0146 
2. Brito LB, Ricardo DR, Araújo DS, Ramos PS, Myers J, Araújo CG. Ability to sit and rise from the floor as a predictor of all-cause mortality. Eur J Prev Cardiol. 2014 Jul;21(7):892-8. doi: 10.1177/2047487312471759. Epub 2012 Dec 13. PMID: 23242910.
3. Vandeputte D, Falony G, Vieira-Silva S, et alStool consistency is strongly associated with gut microbiota richness and composition, enterotypes and bacterial growth ratesGut 2016;65:57-62.​
4. Grit: Perseverance and passion for long-term goals. By Duckworth, Angela L.,Peterson, Christopher,Matthews, Michael D.,Kelly, Dennis R.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol 92(6), Jun 2007, 1087-1101