--:-- **Sponsor:**
The NFL is back and FanDuel's got everything you need to play your game, from same-game parlays to live betting. Right now, new customers bet $5 and get $300 in bonus bets if you win. 21+ in select states. 18+ in Kentucky and Wyoming. Must be first online real money wager. $5 deposit required. Bonus issued as non-withdrawable bonus bets that expire seven days after receipt. Restrictions apply. See full terms at FanDuel.com/sportsbook. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.
--:-- **Steven Bartlett:**
What mission are you on and why does that mission matter to you, but also to everybody else listening to this right now?
--:-- **Bryan Johnson:**
My mission is for the human race to survive and thrive. It's about figuring out what we can do to create the highest probability of that being possible. Why have I taken on this mission versus any other? Why me? I want to give you the long answer, going all the way back to the beginning.
--:-- I had a transformative experience when I was 19 years old. I went to Ecuador as a missionary and lived among extreme poverty—dirt floors, mud huts, people not knowing how they'd make ends meet day to day. When I returned to the United States, my family was poor growing up, but it was opulent compared to Ecuador. I couldn't believe I had lived in a bubble my entire life, unaware of such circumstances.
--:-- Facing decisions in college—what to study, what to become—I couldn't identify with anything except this fire within me to spend my life improving the human race on a global scale. I didn't know where it came from, but coming back from Ecuador, it seemed like that was what I wanted to do.
--:-- At 21, I didn't have any ideas, so I thought I'd become an entrepreneur, make a bunch of money by 30, and then figure out a plan. Lucky me, I sold Braintree and Venmo at 34 and made a few hundred million dollars. The company sold for $800 million. Then I set my mind to this question: What one thing could I do that would still be relevant in the 25th century?
--:-- I grew up on biographies and think on a century's timescale. I want to do things that matter beyond the news cycle. I understand myself as being on a singular mission for intelligent existence to thrive. That's what I am, what I'm doing. Nothing else matters to me.
--:-- **Steven Bartlett:**
The ultimate question becomes: Are you happy?
--:-- **Bryan Johnson:**
Never more so in my entire life. Unquestionably. I've never felt more fulfilled, stable, expansive, free, bold, or alive.
--:-- You experienced the antithesis of happiness—depression, voices in your head telling you to do unthinkable things like suicide. What goes on in your head now?
--:-- **Steven Bartlett:**
It's all play. I've never had more fun. Most of my life has been a grind, doing things to achieve objectives because that's what society says to do. Now, I'm not doing this for anyone's expectations or acceptance. This is the game I selected to play. I don't care what anyone says about it. Sincerely, I just feel free.
--:-- [Stage direction: Bryan notices something on the chair.]
--:-- **Bryan Johnson:**
I noticed there's something on the chair over there. And I'm actually starving. It's gone four o'clock, and I haven't eaten today. But you were very kind in bringing me some food.
--:-- **Steven Bartlett:**
Of course! Jack, could you bring me the food, please?
--:-- **Bryan Johnson:**
And you can tell me what you've brought me to eat.
--:-- [Stage direction: Steven brings the food.]
--:-- **Steven Bartlett:**
This is what you eat, right?
--:-- **Bryan Johnson:**
Yes. Thank you. Okay, so you've brought me a meal today. For anyone listening, I'll try to tilt it up so you can see. If you're watching on YouTube or Spotify video, you can see what's in these bowls. You've brought me two little buckets of pills and a drink. What is this food?
--:-- This is the answer if you ask the body what it wants to eat for ideal health. This isn't the only food you could eat, but it's a version where you could eat. My daily caloric intake is 2,250 calories. Every calorie has to fight for its life. There's not a single calorie in my protocol that exists for any reason other than serving an objective in the body.
--:-- Dish number one is called Super Veggie: broccoli, cauliflower, black lentils, garlic, ginger, hemp seeds. Over a month, if you were to do this with me, you'd eat around 70 pounds of vegetables.
--:-- [Stage direction: Bryan points to the food.]
--:-- **Bryan Johnson:**
We also have extra virgin olive oil and chocolate. I can taste the cacao, like dark chocolate. We pair the chocolate in here—it's an unexpected pairing. The way we think about it is, chocolate can be good for you, but it has to be dark, untouched, tested for heavy metals, and have a high polyphenol count.
--:-- This is a mushroom covered in chocolate. How fun! Those are maitake mushrooms.
--:-- **Steven Bartlett:**
That's right. You didn't put anything on it, no salt.
--:-- **Bryan Johnson:**
I use potassium chloride, a new salt.
--:-- [Stage direction: Bryan points to the broccoli.]
--:-- **Bryan Johnson:**
That's that dish explained. This looks like dessert to me—nutty pudding. It is many people consider it a dessert. It's macadamia nuts, walnuts, flaxseed, sunflower, pomegranate juice, berries, and pea protein.
--:-- Is this the entire meal you'd have in one day? There's one more dish that varies day to day, but this is really it. I have three tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, one in here, then an avocado and a third meal a day, and this drink here.
--:-- **Steven Bartlett:**
What's in the drink?
--:-- **Bryan Johnson:**
That's the Green Giant. The way it works is, I'll wake up in the morning, drink the Green Giant, take 60 pills, work out for an hour, then eat Super Veggie, wait an hour, eat nutty pudding, wait one more hour, and eat my third meal. Then I'm finished for the day.
--:-- **Steven Bartlett:**
How many pills were you taking one day?
--:-- **Bryan Johnson:**
Currently, 111.
--:-- **Steven Bartlett:**
Wow. And you take 60 of them in the morning?
--:-- **Bryan Johnson:**
That's right.
--:-- [Stage direction: Bryan drinks the Green Giant.]
--:-- **Steven Bartlett:**
That's an interesting taste. It doesn't taste amazing.
--:-- **Bryan Johnson:**
It's not like something you'd find in a juice bar.
--:-- [Stage direction: Bryan eats the nutty pudding.]
--:-- **Steven Bartlett:**
This is nice. What are your principles for eating?
--:-- **Bryan Johnson:**
Caloric restriction is important. Every calorie has to justify its existence.
--:-- **Steven Bartlett:**
What are your wider nutritional principles?
--:-- **Bryan Johnson:**
I learned how to fly an airplane. When I engaged autopilot, the plane would just sit straight and perfect. That's how I think about my diet. If I use my mind, I ping-pong around life, eating this and that. But if I put my body on autopilot, every single thing is tracked and justified.
--:-- **Steven Bartlett:**
How many pills were you taking one day?
--:-- **Bryan Johnson:**
111.
--:-- **Steven Bartlett:**
Wow. And you take 60 of them in the morning?
--:-- **Bryan Johnson:**
That's right.
--:-- [Stage direction: Bryan points to the pills.]
--:-- **Steven Bartlett:**
What's in these pills?
--:-- **Bryan Johnson:**
A lot of things you'd expect, like vitamin D and C, more advanced things like alpha-ketoglutarate or metformin.
--:-- **Steven Bartlett:**
One of my friends asked me about NAD+ when he knew I was speaking to you. What's your perspective on NAD+?
--:-- **Bryan Johnson:**
NAD+ levels go down with age. When you supplement, you're trying to peg yourself to a more youthful state. I trialed both NR and NMN, measured my intracellular levels, and both were effective.
--:-- **Steven Bartlett:**
What advice would you give me about increasing my health span?
--:-- **Bryan Johnson:**
Do exactly what I've published. Blueprint provides a starting point. Share the data, eat in the mornings, and measure yourself.
--:-- **Steven Bartlett:**
What about testosterone levels?
--:-- **Bryan Johnson:**
I do a testosterone patch. When you're on caloric restriction, testosterone naturally goes down, so I keep mine pegged in the normal range.
--:-- **Steven Bartlett:**
What advice would you give me about hair loss?
--:-- **Bryan Johnson:**
Fight it with everything you've got. I have a custom formulation with minoxidil, red light therapy, PRF injections, and supplements.
--:-- **Steven Bartlett:**
Is there a silver bullet?
--:-- **Bryan Johnson:**
It's about building habits. Throw a cap on your head in the morning, put liquid on your scalp at night, and take supplements. It's entirely about systems.
--:-- **Sponsor:**
It takes a little bit of time to realize this as a founder, but once you do, it's something you can't unsee: having the right systems in place with your business is critical. One that's helped me across all of my investments is NetSuite, the number one cloud financial system and sponsor of today's conversation.
--:-- Through their streamlined platform, you'll find all of your accounting, finance, management, inventory, and HR in one place. Their technology has been a massive unlock for all of my companies, especially for my team at Flight Story. Over the last year, we've moved out of startup mode into scale-up mode, and that's the stage where we found it mission-critical to use NetSuite.
--:-- Over 42,000 businesses have chosen to future-proof their business with NetSuite. So if you'd like to learn how it can help your business, head to NetSuite.com/Bartlett for a free download of the CFO's Guide to AI and Machine Learning.
--:-- **Steven Bartlett:**
Thank you for tuning in to this episode of *The Diary of a CEO*. If you want to listen to the full conversation with Bryan Johnson, check the links in the description. Until next time, dream boldly, think openly, expand your awareness, and feel more connected.
--:-- **Sponsor:**
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices.
