High Performance Coach: The Truth About Losing Weight & Belly Fat | Dan Go

Dan Go 0:00 I was a degenerate pretty much like my entire life up until my 20s.

Codie Sanchez 0:03 This week we have the performance coach to high performers. He has had his team help people lose 100,000 pounds.

Dan Go 0:12 If you have a big belly, it's gonna fuck up your brain. How do you think you're gonna feel? Am I going to change my lifestyle, or am I willing to take medications for the rest of my life?

Codie Sanchez 0:20 Oura Ring is not going to like this podcast.

Dan Go 0:23 Okay, so my whole thing about these trackers

Codie Sanchez 0:26 It's a really good point, actually.

Dan Go 0:27 There's no free lunch out there. If you are metabolically healthy, you are less likely to be controlled.

Codie Sanchez 0:32 You can have 1,000 problems in life until you have a health problem.

Dan Go 0:36 What's gonna happen if you don't take care of yourself?

Codie Sanchez 0:38 [upbeat music] Hi, this is Codie Sanchez. Welcome back to the Big Deal podcast. This week we have the performance coach to high performers. He is one of the top health and fitness coach in the country. For 20 years he's been turning people who maybe have a lot of wealth but don't have the right kinda health completely around, to the fact that he has had his team help people lose 100,000 pounds. His name's Dan Go. We get into a bunch of reasons that will shock you about why you aren't losing weight, how to be healthy, how your brain is performing if you aren't very healthy, and why doing this one hack might be the way to stop those hunger pains. Can't wait to get into this conversation with Dan Go. And I have something for all of you business owners. It is a grading system to see if your business could be sold for the max dollar right now, or if you are actually operating in an F business. We use this proprietary quiz that we honed with thousands of owners to help you figure out where your business is at. Go to the link in bio to learn about Dominium and to get access to your free grade, and you can tell me in the comments what grade your business has. So this line I was obsessed with the other week-

Dan Go 1:55 Yeah

Codie Sanchez 1:55 ... on your Twitter, it totally changed my perspective on how to think about health, and the line was this: "I'd die for my family," in quotes. Okay. Would you lift three times a week, eat a nutrient-dense diet, fix your sleep habits, walk 10,000 steps, and stop drinking so much alcohol for them? Tell me about that quote.

Dan Go 2:16 Dying, to me, is easy.

Codie Sanchez 2:18 Mm.

Dan Go 2:19 Living is way much harder. It takes way more effort. And I remember talking to an entrepreneur about this, and he was like, "Oh yeah, man," like, like every parent would say is like, "I would die for my family." And I was like, "Okay, cool. Uh, let's, let's juxtapose this. So let's just say, like, your daughter is on the other side of a bridge, and you're on the other side, and the bridge is gonna explode unless you lift three times a week, unless you do the things that we're asking to do nutrition-wise, unless you fix your sleep, uh, and also give up alcohol. Are you willing to do this?" He's like, "I... Do I have to do the alcohol bit?" And I'm just like, [laughs] "Dude, your daughter's on the other side." And he's like, "Yeah, yeah, I'll, I'll do it." And, and the thing to me is just the fact that it is so easy to say, "Oh yeah, I'll die for this, I'll die for that,"

Dan Go 3:12 but the effort of living, the effort of-

Codie Sanchez 3:14 Mm

Dan Go 3:14 ... actually going to the gym three times a week, the effort of controlling the foods that go into your mouth, the effort of actually putting yourself to sleep, uh, every single day for eight hours a day, that is much harder, that is way more effort than just saying, "I'm willing to take a bullet for someone." So, so I, I, I feel like, uh, a lot of people would be willing to die, but not a lot of people would be willing to live for their kids.

Codie Sanchez 3:38 It's actually fascinating. When did you first notice that?

Dan Go 3:42 I noticed that when my first daughter came out.

Codie Sanchez 3:44 Mm.

Dan Go 3:45 And when my first daughter came out, I was like, "I am willing to do everything for you."

Codie Sanchez 3:51 Mm.

Dan Go 3:52 "And I am willing to run through walls. I'm willing to build whatever you want me to build. I'm, I'm willing to do everything." And something that not a lot of people know is that I had my first kid when I was, like, 40 years old. That's old [laughs] in, like, traditional sense. And, and for me, it was just like, "Okay, well, I'm 40 years old. I'm having my first kid. I wanna be here as long as I can be for her," and that means I wanna live till, like, I'm 110, 120, 130, if that is at all possible. I wanna be there as long as I can, so I have to look at myself, I have to look at my own health and be like, "Okay, so what am I doing?" This is the reason why I'm getting more into longevity. This is the reason why I'm doing my blood work six months or every six months. This is the reason why I'm doing DEXA scans, is because I wanna make sure that I am lining myself as much as I can to be there as long as, as possible for her.

Codie Sanchez 4:49 Yeah.

Dan Go 4:50 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 4:50 It's fascinating though because it's so damn hard. Like, I don't know-

Dan Go 4:52 Yeah

Codie Sanchez 4:52 ... what the difference is. Why are we say... Why do you think that we are so willing to say, "Yeah, you could shoot me, and that would be okay-

Dan Go 5:00 Yeah

Codie Sanchez 5:00 ... but I won't make these life changes"? Is it just because it's instant and painful as opposed to continuous and sort of low-grade pain?

Dan Go 5:08 Absolutely. I, I do think that, uh, I say this a lot, where getting in shape in general is a subtle and slow compounding effect of feeling more positive.

Codie Sanchez 5:20 Mm.

Dan Go 5:20 I remember you actually posted this thing where you, you said, "Okay, well, I quit alcohol for a month. I ate protein for a month. [laughs] I did all this stuff for a month. I don't feel any different. What, what, what, what gives?" And there's another guy who actually came out with almost, like, copied you word for word. He got, like, 100,000 likes. And the thing is is that you, you aren't going to feel the differences within the month. It's almost like saying, "Okay, well, I tried everything I could to build a business for 30 days. It didn't work out. I don't think this is for me, guys. [laughs] Like, I don't think this is for me."

Codie Sanchez 5:51 Shit.

Dan Go 5:51 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 5:51 Okay, that tracks. [laughs]

Dan Go 5:52 Yeah. [laughs] And then it's just like... A- and for me it's like this instant gratification that people expect, especially when they're trying to get in shape.

Codie Sanchez 5:59 Yep.

Dan Go 6:00 Uh, they want things to be fast. They want things to be, uh, as instant as humanly possible, but the thing that we know about getting in shape and the thing that we know about business is that

Dan Go 6:08 it's about the incremental improvements. And these incremental improvements are not necessarily things that you're going to see instantaneously, but if you have enough awareness over 90 days, over six months, and you actually track this stuff, you're gonna see, "Oh, crap, I actually made pretty good decisions-

Codie Sanchez 6:24 Mm-hmm

Dan Go 6:24 ... over 90 days. I actually was able to control my emotions over 90 days. I was able to wake up out of bed and actually, like, feel like I wanted to crush the day after 90 days." It takes a little bit more. And I, and I remember I was talking to a client. We helped him drop 20 pounds, do all this kind of stuff, and then I asked him after 90 days, I was just like, "Okay, so tell me what's happening in your life. What's going on?" "Oh, dude, we just, like, crushed our record. We had a record-breaking month. I'm having, like, a, the best time with my wife. Like, we're doing it," you know, all that kind of stuff. And I was like, "Well, do you understand that this is a reflection of, like, how you feel because you've dropped 20 pounds of fat off of your body?"

Codie Sanchez 7:04 Mm.

Dan Go 7:04 "You're not carrying around this weight vest on you." And then he was just like, "I never really thought about it like that." And no one does.

Codie Sanchez 7:12 Mm-mm.

Dan Go 7:13 And even it goes the other, you know, it goes the other way as well, where getting out of shape is a slow burn.

Codie Sanchez 7:19 Mm.

Dan Go 7:20 Oh, gosh. And then you wake up one day, you, you actually, like, eat the junk food, you binge eat at night, or you drink enough times and it becomes a habit, and then that becomes your new normal, and you're like, "Oh, cool, this is what life is like." It goes both ways, and people don't realize it until they have to go through it long enough.

Codie Sanchez 7:37 It's true. You know, the other quote that I love that you have is that, "The American diet was meant to put you in an American hospital-

Dan Go 7:44 [laughs]

Codie Sanchez 7:44 ... for American healthcare so you can buy American pharma drugs."

Dan Go 7:47 Yes, yes. The system sucks. Our... And this is not just... I mean, I'm from Canada, and we have the both the same system. We have free healthcare. Our healthcare is not even free.

Codie Sanchez 7:59 Mm.

Dan Go 8:00 Like, we have to wait maybe six months to get an a- MRI. Uh, I would almost, like, rather have private healthcare in that sense because American, uh, hospitals, they wanna get your money. Like, they want it. And the thing that we're seeing right now with Maha and the things that we're seeing with RFK Jr. coming into play is the fact that it almost seems like a conspiracy, but it's not.

Codie Sanchez 8:23 Yeah.

Dan Go 8:24 Food companies make foods that make you more addicted to the foods that you're eating. Pharma- pharma companies come in and they say, "Oh, cool, we have this thing that's gonna help you mask the system, but... or mask the symptom, but what's gonna happen is, is that you're gonna have to take this for the rest of your life so you don't have to feel it." And the unfortunate thing is, is that everyone wants that. Most people want that. I remember I was talking to, uh, one of my, uh, my sister-in-law. She has her parents. Her parents are frail as you know what. And I was just like, "Hey, if, if... We could... I could give her, like, a workout program. I can, I can help them go on their way." And she told me, it's like, "No, she, she doesn't wanna do that. She... Give her the pill. Just give me the pill. Make it go away."

Dan Go 9:12 And then that's the mentality that a lot of people have. And unfortunately, what's gonna happen is, is that there's gonna come this precipice where you're gonna have to take a medication if you've not taken care of your body. And then that's gonna be a decision. Am I going to change my lifestyle, or am I willing to take medications for the rest of my life?

Codie Sanchez 9:30 Mm.

Dan Go 9:30 And unfortunately, for the vast majority of people, they're like, "All right, give me the medication. Give me the pill."

Codie Sanchez 9:35 Yeah. I mean, you know, what's fascinating is all the stuff going on with Maha. I know you and I are-

Dan Go 9:40 Yeah

Codie Sanchez 9:40 ... both friends with a bunch of the same people. I think, like, they really took some bullets for us-

Dan Go 9:43 Oh, yeah

Codie Sanchez 9:43 ... out there. Like, Calley Means, some of the stuff that he's had to deal with is wild.

Dan Go 9:47 Oh, yeah.

Codie Sanchez 9:47 Um, but what I like about the stuff that you talk about is that you make it sound so simple.

Dan Go 9:52 Mm.

Codie Sanchez 9:53 So, like, you have lots of things that you talk about from your... I don't know, how long have you been in fitness now, 18, 20 years?

Dan Go 10:00 It's 20 years.

Codie Sanchez 10:01 20 years.

Dan Go 10:02 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 10:02 So you've basically said, "In my 20 years of fitness, I can distill health down to these few things."

Dan Go 10:08 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 10:08 What are they?

Dan Go 10:10 This one is gonna be one that not a lot of people will actually see as the most important thing, which is getting your data.

Codie Sanchez 10:18 Mm.

Dan Go 10:18 Tracking your data. I was having this conversation with one of my clients, and I was like... He's an entrepreneur like yourself. I was like, "How often do you check your revenue? How often do you check your sales?" "Every day, bro. Every day." "Okay, cool. When's the last time that you stepped on the scale?" And then, like, complete silence. And, and I'm just like, "Dude, how are you tracking the metrics that matter to you? And you're not even stepping on the scale, and you're saying health is a priority."

Codie Sanchez 10:46 Mm.

Dan Go 10:46 "This, these two things don't make sense." So for me, you cannot improve what cannot be measured. So the first thing for me is going to be setting up some sort of dashboard. You have your surface level numbers, which are gonna be your weight, your inches, your pictures. Then you have your deeper numbers, which are gonna be your blood work. It's gonna be your DEXA scan. It's gonna be, for a guy, it's gonna be your testosterone levels. And what we wanna do is we wanna get this dashboard to inform us whether or not we're on the right track or whether or not we're off track.

Codie Sanchez 11:12 Mm-hmm.

Dan Go 11:12 Just like a business.

Codie Sanchez 11:13 Yeah.

Dan Go 11:13 I actually say there's so much, uh, correlation between a business and a body. So another thing is just, uh, and this is not with the data thing, but I always ask entrepreneurs, "Okay, when a problem happens in your business, fire happens, what is your first thing that you're gonna do?" "All right, we're gonna find what the cause is. Uh, we're gonna, we're gonna figure out who's in charge of this, and we're gonna fix the cause right at the root." Okay, cool. Okay, so if you step on a scale and you're five pounds over and you did everything that you thought you were supposed to do, what is your reaction to that?

Codie Sanchez 11:46 Hmm.

Dan Go 11:46 And they're like, "I panic."

Codie Sanchez 11:47 [laughs]

Dan Go 11:48 [laughs] They're like, they're like, "I get emotional. I'm like, 'This is not working. I can't do this anymore.'"

Codie Sanchez 11:54 Yeah.

Dan Go 11:54 And, and it's just that they, they're so objective for their businesses, which is this external thing, but when it comes to the internal, they are so... They're, they are not objective at all. They're quite emotional.

Dan Go 12:04 So I like to get data because that makes me objective about what's happening with my business or what's happening with my body, so to speak.

Codie Sanchez 12:11 Where do you put all this data? Like, do you... Are there like... Is there an app that can aggregate everything for you?

Dan Go 12:16 Right now we're working on it-

Codie Sanchez 12:18 Oh, that'd be sick

Dan Go 12:18 ... at this very moment. Yeah. So it's like, uh, we... What we're looking for is, like, weight trends. We're looking for inches.

Codie Sanchez 12:23 Yeah.

Dan Go 12:23 We're looking for a place to put your blood work.

Codie Sanchez 12:25 Mm-hmm.

Dan Go 12:25 We're looking for a place to put your DEXA scans. Right now there's not anything that aggregates everything all at once, but we can have things that file things away. So even in my software, we can file away the DEXA, we can file away the blood work, we can file away the recommendations.

Codie Sanchez 12:38 Mm-hmm.

Dan Go 12:38 We can have the actual dashboard in front of us, but we don't have anything right now that can give us this health dashboard, and that's one of the things that we're working on at this point.

Codie Sanchez 12:47 Yeah, 'cause it's annoying, isn't it? I mean, I have the Oura Ring.

Dan Go 12:49 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 12:49 Right? So I'm now tracking, like, movement and steps-

Dan Go 12:52 Yeah

Codie Sanchez 12:52 ... and sleep, et cetera. But then I gotta go to MyFitnessPal-

Dan Go 12:55 Yes

Codie Sanchez 12:55 ... or something to plug it all in.

Dan Go 12:56 Yes.

Codie Sanchez 12:56 And then I gotta go to, like, Ladder to do my workouts that I'm gonna do. But I can't actually very easily input my numbers for how much weights I'm lifting every single...

Dan Go 13:05 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 13:05 So at some point... And I'm pretty high functioning. You're like, Jesus fucking Christ, like-

Dan Go 13:09 Yeah

Codie Sanchez 13:09 ... I have to have 37 apps.

Dan Go 13:11 That's-

Codie Sanchez 13:11 And I already run a business, you know?

Dan Go 13:13 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 13:13 How come I gotta do this other one?

Dan Go 13:14 That's, that's-

Codie Sanchez 13:15 So it is, it does feel overwhelming

Dan Go 13:16 ... the unfortunate part.

Codie Sanchez 13:16 Yeah.

Dan Go 13:16 Yeah. That is the unfortunate part. How's the, how's the Oura Ring going for you right now?

Codie Sanchez 13:20 Actually, I'm loving it.

Dan Go 13:21 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 13:21 Which is like... Yeah, just like you said, what gets measured gets managed. And then also I think where your attention flows, that's where your energy goes, like Tony Robbins says. And so the fact that I just know every single day. We also have the Eight Sleep bed.

Dan Go 13:34 Hm.

Codie Sanchez 13:34 So it pings me like, "How'd you sleep last night?" Which makes me wanna look at the Oura Ring, and then I sort of gamify, "Okay, did I do the steps? Did I do the workout today?"

Dan Go 13:43 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 13:44 And it becomes a habit, you know?

Dan Go 13:46 Yeah. How long have you had it for?

Codie Sanchez 13:48 I've had it for, like, not long, maybe four months.

Dan Go 13:50 Okay.

Codie Sanchez 13:51 Something like that.

Dan Go 13:52 I've got some strong opinions about that. [laughs]

Codie Sanchez 13:53 Oh, no, you don't like 'em? What's wrong with the Oura Ring?

Dan Go 13:56 There's nothing wrong with the Oura Ring. Let's, let's just put that out there. But there is something wrong with, uh, with using data to kind of like track and make yourself emotional about this stuff.

Codie Sanchez 14:08 Mm-hmm.

Dan Go 14:09 Okay, so my whole thing about these trackers is the fact that we should use them to get the data. Once we get the data, once we make improvements, we should actually stop using them.

Codie Sanchez 14:19 Mm-hmm.

Dan Go 14:19 And I say for every single one of the people, "Should I get an Oura Ring? Should I get Whoop?" Or whatever it is. I'm actually saying, like, you should get it for probably, like, six months to a year.

Codie Sanchez 14:27 Yeah.

Dan Go 14:27 Uh, you should make the improvements that you should make, and everyone's different. So you can test out magnesium glycinate, you can test out mouth taping, all this kind of stuff for your sleep and recovery and whatnot. Once you get that data and once you make the improvements, once you know your average score is at, like, 85, 90 for, like, sleep or whatever, get rid of it. And the reason I say that is because

Dan Go 14:47 when you actually get a bad score... And these, these sleep trackers are not necessarily the most accurate. So let's just say you get a bad score. How do you think that's gonna make you feel for the rest of the day?

Codie Sanchez 14:57 Yeah.

Dan Go 14:57 You get a 60 on your sleep score, and you're like, "Oh, I'm so tired. I, I don't think I can... Like, you know, I don't, I'm not gonna be operating at my best." Or let's just say you get a low recovery score, which is, like, what they give you, even though you're feeling fucking amazing. What, how do you think you're gonna feel? It's gonna give you this cognitive dissonance.

Codie Sanchez 15:15 Yeah.

Dan Go 15:16 So for me, it's like, yes, use it to get the data, but eventually over time you're gonna have to take away the safety blanket-

Codie Sanchez 15:22 Mm-hmm

Dan Go 15:22 ... and trust, like, the behaviors that you're doing, and not have something to actually tell you, "Okay, you're doing... You have... You're doing great. You have high energy. You can go. Get after it." For me, like, one of the best things I ever did was actually, for my health, was actually get rid of the Oura Ring.

Codie Sanchez 15:37 Interesting, 'cause you were obsessing on it.

Dan Go 15:39 I was obsessing on it.

Codie Sanchez 15:40 Yeah.

Dan Go 15:40 And it was dictating the way I felt.

Codie Sanchez 15:42 Yeah.

Dan Go 15:42 Right.

Codie Sanchez 15:42 And I think that can hap- It's a really good point, actually, because, uh, some of my girlfriends don't sleep well.

Dan Go 15:47 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 15:47 Happens to a lot of women right after they have a kid.

Dan Go 15:49 Yes.

Codie Sanchez 15:49 Like, they... Really, a lot of them struggle-

Dan Go 15:51 Yes

Codie Sanchez 15:51 ... with sleep, it seems.

Dan Go 15:52 Mm-hmm.

Codie Sanchez 15:53 And so... And they'd be like, "I would just be so stressed when I looked at my sleep score every day."

Dan Go 15:57 Yeah. Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 15:57 And I sleep like a baby, so I'm always like, "I'm fucking Brian Johnson Jr.-

Dan Go 16:01 [laughs]

Codie Sanchez 16:01 ... over here," so it doesn't bother me. But, but if I stopped being able to sleep well, it probably would. So I like-

Dan Go 16:06 Yeah

Codie Sanchez 16:06 ... you almost... It's, it's like anything else. You're not gonna get your blood test- tested every single day unless you're sick.

Dan Go 16:10 Yes.

Codie Sanchez 16:11 You're gonna do it for a period, then you're gonna put it away.

Dan Go 16:13 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 16:13 Then if you're not feeling good again, you might take it back out again, reengage.

Dan Go 16:16 Yes.

Codie Sanchez 16:17 Oura Ring is not going to like this podcast.

Dan Go 16:20 Well, are they sponsoring this right now?

Codie Sanchez 16:20 They're gonna wanna cut your subscription revenue in half.

Dan Go 16:23 [laughs]

Codie Sanchez 16:23 No, they're not sponsoring it.

Dan Go 16:24 Okay.

Codie Sanchez 16:24 But I like that. It's good to know.

Dan Go 16:26 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 16:26 Wait, I wanna talk about one other thing that you talked about that I thought was so true, which is you said, "You're never gonna be as young as you are right now. Being in good shape in your 20s is not impressive."

Dan Go 16:38 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 16:38 "Being 40 years old and being fit is a massive status symbol."

Dan Go 16:43 Yeah. There is this, uh, law of diminishing health as we get older.

Codie Sanchez 16:48 Mm-hmm.

Dan Go 16:49 Uh, you're probably noticing it right now. Uh, if you don't mind me asking, like, how-

Codie Sanchez 16:52 Of course

Dan Go 16:52 ... how old are you right now?

Codie Sanchez 16:53 38.

Dan Go 16:54 Okay, so 38. You probably know some of your college girlfriends, seeing them grow over the years, there's only a very small percentage of them who are keeping themselves in tiptop shape-

Codie Sanchez 17:07 Yeah

Dan Go 17:07 ... who look like they looked like when they were in college.

Codie Sanchez 17:11 Yeah.

Dan Go 17:11 And the reason is, is because you have responsibilities. Uh, in college there, there's one guy on my Twitter who's just like, "Yeah, man, I used to, like, drink, and I was, like, in the best shape of my life in college." And I was like, "Yeah, because when you drink, you're dancing."

Codie Sanchez 17:25 Hm.

Dan Go 17:25 You're moving all over the place.

Codie Sanchez 17:27 Hm.

Dan Go 17:27 You're going from, like, campus to campus, and you're, like, going out with your friends, and you're just moving all the time.

Codie Sanchez 17:33 Yeah.

Dan Go 17:33 And obviously you had good hormone health at that point, too. But as we get older, number one is we slow down. Uh, number two is that we have more responsibilities. Let's just say we have, like, two kids. That's a lot- ... to handle, and you're not getting as many steps as you would, like handling a toddler, no matter what anyone says. And it's also stress.

Codie Sanchez 17:53 Mm-hmm.

Dan Go 17:53 You feel more stress as you get older.

Codie Sanchez 17:56 Mm.

Dan Go 17:56 Maybe 'cause it's perception or maybe it's because of the overall weight of everything that you have to handle, all the stuff that's on your shoulders.

Codie Sanchez 18:04 Mm-hmm.

Dan Go 18:04 So what I say is, like when you are in your 40s, and if you're able to keep yourself

Dan Go 18:09 in shape in your 40s, way more impressive than your 20s because not only are you dealing with responsibilities, you're dealing with hormone changes as well, and you're also dealing with the modern life that is just, like slowing us down.

Codie Sanchez 18:20 Yep.

Dan Go 18:20 And, and just in general, it's like, hey, like, you're supposed to be in your shape in your 20s, okay?

Codie Sanchez 18:26 [laughs]

Dan Go 18:26 Like, come on.

Codie Sanchez 18:27 I know. That's what I always tell them too. I'm like, "Yeah, yeah, just wait until you're my a-

Dan Go 18:31 Yeah

Codie Sanchez 18:31 ... like, I looked like that too, okay?

Dan Go 18:34 Yeah. Like chill.

Codie Sanchez 18:34 Yeah. [laughs]

Dan Go 18:35 Chill, bro. You're 20, okay?

Codie Sanchez 18:36 I know. [laughs]

Dan Go 18:37 Relax.

Codie Sanchez 18:38 I know. I do miss those days, actually.

Dan Go 18:40 [laughs]

Codie Sanchez 18:41 You know, you told a story that like was so beautiful but also daunting to me about you were in your early 20s, and you walked into your dad's house at 6:00 AM-

Dan Go 18:52 Yes

Codie Sanchez 18:52 ... and you were super drunk, and then something happened-

Dan Go 18:56 [gasps]

Codie Sanchez 18:56 ... that kinda changed your whole perspective on health.

Dan Go 18:59 Yeah. Okay, so I was a degenerate i- pretty much like my entire life up until my 20s. Uh, always a D, D student in school. When I got to high school, high school dropout. Uh, my p- grade nine or freshman year, I was in typewriting class or, you know, keyboarding class.

Codie Sanchez 19:19 I remember that. I'm that old too. Yeah.

Dan Go 19:20 Oh, my gosh.

Codie Sanchez 19:21 Yeah.

Dan Go 19:21 The teacher had to talk to my mom and say, "Yo, your kid sucks." People don't know this. I failed kindergarten. I didn't even know that was possible.

Codie Sanchez 19:33 [laughs] Shit.

Dan Go 19:33 I failed kin- like what did I... Like they fail people in kindergarten.

Codie Sanchez 19:37 [laughs]

Dan Go 19:37 You're like you're supposed to do your ABCs. I, like I don't know.

Codie Sanchez 19:39 [laughs]

Dan Go 19:39 So I was always like a shit kid, always. And there was one point in time where I got really into raving. I got really into doing ecstasy, MDMA, all of the drugs except for the ones that you put up your nose 'cause that was like the most dangerous one. I was like, "I ain't gonna touch that stuff," right?

Codie Sanchez 19:56 [laughs]

Dan Go 19:57 And there was one time I came home at 6:00 AM, and I just walked in, and then you walk in, then you see your parent, and you're just like... And then like automatically in your brain, you're like, "Okay, I gotta play this off. I go- I gotta act like I'm normal, that I'm just coming home from like-

Codie Sanchez 20:13 Mm

Dan Go 20:13 ... Bible study or something like that.

Codie Sanchez 20:15 Mm-hmm.

Dan Go 20:15 And, and I just looked in his face. I was like, "Hey, like, how's it going?" And he went to me. He was just like... He, he looked at me with the most disappointed Asian father face that you can ever think of, and he's just like, "I'm going to the gym," and he just walked past me, walked straight out, didn't say anything. And then that left an impression on me that I will never forget to this day. I actually still remember it vividly. And the reason why I remember that is because at that time, my dad was probably around like 30 pounds overweight at that point, and he was waking up at 6:00 AM, hitting the gym, and guess what happened? One month later, my dad comes out. He's like the member of the, the member

Dan Go 21:02 of the month.

Codie Sanchez 21:02 [laughs]

Dan Go 21:03 He went to the gym like 30 days a week or whatever, 30 days, like 30 days straight. They gave him like a free month pass. He actually gave it to my brother, and it was like my brother's like, "Nah, I'm good. H- here. Give it to, give it to little Dan." Gave it to me, and that was just like because of that impression I had of my dad, I was like, "Hey, maybe this gym thing can be a little bit cool. At worst, I will see hot women."

Codie Sanchez 21:24 [laughs]

Dan Go 21:24 "At best, I will get myself in shape." So I ended up taking the gym pass, walking to the gym every single day. I was doing nothing at that time, like absolutely nothing, just playing video games, partying. But in the afternoons, I had a lot of time, so I went to the gym. [sniffs] And then lo and behold, maybe like two or three weeks into it, I end up putting on my pan- putting on my belt, and then I, I, I, I just like cinch it in like one more notch. And I'm just like, "Yo, this is nuts. If this happens with me not even, like caring about my nutrition, like what happens if I go longer?" And then that was like, when you get results, that's when you become like just obsessed with the gym, and at that point in time, I didn't realize it, but I was changing my brain.

Codie Sanchez 22:12 Mm.

Dan Go 22:13 So [sniffs] I wasn't even exercising, and then the, the time that I brought, like exercise into my life, it was starting to just, like change my thoughts. I was starting to go from being this negative dude, "Oh, yeah, woe is me," to being like, "Hey, like I can, I can pretty much like do things, you know? I can, I can take action." And it was the... It was almost like the, what do they call it? The entry-level drug-

Codie Sanchez 22:34 Mm-hmm

Dan Go 22:34 ... for self-improvement for me, and then from there, I never looked back. Pretty much like I ended up quitting a corporate job that I hated, started becoming a personal trainer 'cause I was so into fitness, starting to be obsessed about fat loss, and then all of this. Like, I got myself $15,000 out of debt, getting out of credit card debt, all the... Like, it, it just was the lead domino to so many amazing things in my life, and I will never forget it, and I just blame my dad for it. He's the, he's the reason why I'm doing what I'm doing right now.

Codie Sanchez 23:05 It is weird to think about you as a non-positive guy.

Dan Go 23:08 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 23:08 Like, I almost do not have... I can't imagine that frame for you-

Dan Go 23:11 Yeah

Codie Sanchez 23:11 ... just as long as I've been following you on the internet, and we've been chatting back and forth, so that's pretty wild.

Dan Go 23:16 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 23:17 So, so when you were talking to, you know, some of your clients, and you've helped thousands of people lose more than 100,000 pounds-

Dan Go 23:26 Yeah

Codie Sanchez 23:26 ... of fat, right?

Dan Go 23:27 Hell yeah.

Codie Sanchez 23:27 Over the last however many years.

Dan Go 23:29 Hell yeah.

Codie Sanchez 23:30 Um, is that the fir- like what's the first thing you tell somebody who is like, "I am fat, and I'm miserable, and I don't know if I'm gonna be able to do this"?

Dan Go 23:39 I will, I will not even tell them anything.

Codie Sanchez 23:43 Mm.

Dan Go 23:43 I will ask them why. That's the biggest question. Why is this happening?

Codie Sanchez 23:49 Mm.

Dan Go 23:50 So I'll, I'll, I'll track back. So one of the things that we do inside of our practice, inside of our coaching practice, is, uh, we do this thing called the theory of constraints. This is something that we all know in business, and we want to find out, what is the reason why you are doing this? What is the root cause?

Dan Go 24:09 And I remember talking to one of my clients, and he was just like he had a problem with binge eating, binge eating at night specifically. And I was like, "Okay, cool." Like, "Why do you do that?" "I, I don't know. I just have cravings. I don't, I don't know why I do that." And, and to me, I'm just like, you have to, like, peel the onion a lot, right?

Codie Sanchez 24:28 Right.

Dan Go 24:28 And there's always, like, a physiological reason, and there's a psychological reason. So his physiological reason was he wasn't getting enough nutrients, wasn't eating breakfast, all this kind of stuff, but the psychological reason is the one that makes the actual constraint fixed. So we kept on asking why. Why, why, why, why, why? Kept on asking him. He's like, "Dan, shut the fuck up. Like, I don't know." And I was just like, "Just, just dig. Just stay with me here for a second." What happened was he realized that when he was a kid, he had... He actually had two sisters. When he was a kid, his mom put so much attention on his two sisters, neglected the fuck out of him. So for him, what he did was he went into the kitchen every single night. He had to cope with these feelings that he was, that he was going through. The only way he could cope was opening up the fridge and eating whatever was in the freezer, whatever was inside the fridge, and making that actually numb the thing that he was feeling.

Codie Sanchez 25:26 [sighs]

Dan Go 25:26 So I never tell people, "This is what you should do, or you should do that, you should..." I actually say, "I wanna get down to the root of why you behave the way that you behave." If we can actually just bring awareness around why you are the way that you are, awareness to me is the precursor of change.

Codie Sanchez 25:42 Mm.

Dan Go 25:43 If y- if you shine a light, then that's gonna be the best disinfectant. So the next time he goes and binge eats at night and whatever it is, at least he knows why he's doing it, as opposed to most people who are just subconsciously just doing it because they're trying to numb something, right? So, so I'm always asking why. I'm never telling people what to do.

Codie Sanchez 26:03 That's wild. I've never thought about that.

Dan Go 26:04 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 26:05 So we almost start with the psychological, and then you can say, okay... It actually makes sense, though, because it's not like this stuff is that complex.

Dan Go 26:12 Yes.

Codie Sanchez 26:12 Like, you have a, you have another one that I love that I remind myself of. It's like, all right, all of the information that I've learned about fitness can be distilled into this formula: walk daily, drink water-

Dan Go 26:24 [laughs]

Codie Sanchez 26:24 ... be in nature, eat nutrient-dense foods, follow circadian rhythms, strength train three to four x a week, get seven to eight hours of good sleep. Your brain and body will change for the better when you do this consistently. Not rocket science, really.

Dan Go 26:38 No, no. It's not rocket science, but why are we not doing it? We know what to do, but why are we not doing it? And that to me is the psychological side.

Codie Sanchez 26:48 Mm.

Dan Go 26:48 So we'll bring it back to, say, someone who's building a business, and I'm pretty sure you've talked to clients about this. You've also dealt with people who have, let's just call it, like, mental blocks.

Codie Sanchez 26:57 Yeah.

Dan Go 26:57 "Oh, yeah, like, Codie, uh, I- we're not getting enough leads in our business. Like, what's going on?" And you're like, "You should do this, this, and that, and this and that." And

Dan Go 27:07 then next, next week you're like, "Okay, did you do those things?" "No, like, I didn't. Like, all these things, like, came up," and whatever it is. And then at that point you gotta be like, "Okay, well, this is not a tactical issue. This is a psychological issue."

Codie Sanchez 27:19 Mm.

Dan Go 27:20 And for most people, that is the issue for them. It is a psychological issue that is wrapped up in a tactical issue. They're like, "Oh, like, I don't know how to count my calories. Oh, like, I'm eating the wrong foods. Oh, seed oils," and, like, all this kind of... No, no, no, no, no, no. There is a emotion that you're numbing as a result of the food that you're eating or the alcohol that you're drinking.

Codie Sanchez 27:39 Mm.

Dan Go 27:40 And unless you can actually find out what it is that you're numbing and do the work to actually heal that stuff, you are gonna run up against the same psychological roadblock every damn time. And let me tell you this right now. That shit is hard.

Codie Sanchez 27:54 Mm.

Dan Go 27:54 It's the hardest thing to do because guess what? It's gonna actually show you, oh, maybe I'm, like, not in the right relationship right now.

Codie Sanchez 28:02 Mm.

Dan Go 28:02 Maybe I'm, maybe I'm chasing the wrong ladder, but I don't wanna think about it, so I'm just gonna have another old fashioned.

Codie Sanchez 28:10 Yeah.

Dan Go 28:10 It's going to bring up so many of these decisions and these conversations that you should be having with yourself that you are avoiding, and most times people don't wanna go through that work. They just wanna go through the numbing agents that allow them to not have to feel that.

Codie Sanchez 28:24 What percentage of people who are not fit and not healthy realize that it's psychological?

Dan Go 28:32 I think they're... I think for the vast majority, they realize it's psychological. Now, the question is, is that whether or not they want to do the work to find out why.

Codie Sanchez 28:40 Mm.

Dan Go 28:41 And then that's probably, I would say, I don't know if I can put a percentage on that, but let's just say, like, not a lot of people.

Codie Sanchez 28:48 Mm.

Dan Go 28:49 Because behavior change is hard. You have to... Changing your personality in general and the way in which you react to things is hard. And then that also means that you're gonna have to look at the world in a different way, and we also have to look at these excuses, these rationalizations that we have, and the ways in which we look at this world, the ways in which we behave in this world, as ways in which that give us comfort.

Codie Sanchez 29:12 Mm-hmm.

Dan Go 29:12 If we don't have the security blanket of comfort anymore, what happens? Oh, shit, we have to take responsibility for our lives. How many people... I'll ask you. Like, how many people are willing to take responsibility for their lives?

Codie Sanchez 29:23 Not enough.

Dan Go 29:24 Not enough. And maybe they can do it with their business sometimes. You're dealing with entrepreneurs, I could do this with something external, but when it comes to the thing that's internal, ooh, like, I gotta change, like, something inside of me? Mm, I don't know about that.

Codie Sanchez 29:38 Yeah. I- it also seems to me that a lot of this is that society makes it more comfortable to be-

Dan Go 29:45 [laughs]

Codie Sanchez 29:45 ... unhealthy and unfit.

Dan Go 29:47 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 29:47 Like, for instance, you know... There was something else that I was reading from you that I really liked, which was... Oh, yeah It was basically this, that society eats so much junk food that real food is considered dieting.

Dan Go 29:59 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 29:59 And then also when you tell people, "Hey, I'm gonna eat only protein this month. I'm not drinking. I'm, I'm not doing any of that," they're like, "Come on, bro."

Dan Go 30:08 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 30:09 "Why aren't you joining me?" And so it's almost, it's lonely trying to be healthy for some reason. What happened there?

Dan Go 30:15 Isn't, isn't it lonely... Like, when you started to first become an entrepreneur, wasn't that lonely at first too?

Codie Sanchez 30:20 Yeah.

Dan Go 30:21 'Cause you had to kind of separate from all the finance people.

Codie Sanchez 30:24 Yeah.

Dan Go 30:24 And then you had to go your own way, and not a lot of people are willing to go through that process of being lonely. When I started to get in shape, I, I, like I, I realized like, "Oh, crap, I really don't like drinking alcohol that much."

Codie Sanchez 30:39 Mm.

Dan Go 30:39 "But here I am binge drinking every single weekend. Like, what, what's going on here?" It's because I wanna do things that make me feel part of a tribe.

Codie Sanchez 30:48 Mm-hmm.

Dan Go 30:48 I wanna be part of the tribe. I don't wanna be ostracized.

Codie Sanchez 30:51 Mm-hmm.

Dan Go 30:51 And inherently we're all in it for survival. That's what we're all in it for. If we lose the tribe, then we lose our survival. But we're not living in tribes anymore, but technically we are. We maybe are, we maybe not, but inherently that's what's happening. They don't wanna be ostracized. They don't wanna be away from the tribe. When I started to get my body in shape, I actually had to get rid of a lot of friends. Because when you start to get in shape, you realize that water attracts its own level.

Codie Sanchez 31:17 Mm.

Dan Go 31:17 You wanna hang around people who have the value of health, and not people who are being like, "All right. Let's have Big Macs. Let's have, you know, burgers and fries," and like all the time. Like, that stuff's cool once in a while, but not like all the time.

Codie Sanchez 31:28 Mm-hmm.

Dan Go 31:29 And, and the other thing that we have to realize when it comes to this stuff is that we're changing identity.

Codie Sanchez 31:35 Mm.

Dan Go 31:36 That's what we're doing. And to me, changing of identity, changing your self-image, changing the way in which you look at yourself and how you perceive yourself, that's probably one of the most important things that we have to do in this journey. Even going from, let's just say, like we're using a business perspective, it's like going from like being someone that earns six figures, to being someone that earns seven figures, to being someone that earns eight figures, to nine figures, whatever. Those jumps require a change of identity.

Codie Sanchez 32:05 Mm-hmm.

Dan Go 32:05 The same thing goes with our bodies that people don't realize. Making these jumps, going from, let's just say, being metabolically unhealthy to being metabolically healthy, to being metabolically healthy to getting a six-pack, to doing all this kind of stuff, that requires change of identity, change of behavior. Are you willing to do the work to get there? That is the question.

Codie Sanchez 32:24 How does one change their identity to get health?

Dan Go 32:28 I think, like, the most important thing is is to get someone to help you, to be honest. Like-

Codie Sanchez 32:32 Mm-hmm

Dan Go 32:33 ... you have to all- you have to invest in yourself, whether it be in education, whether it be in a coach, or whether that... I mean, to me it's like the fastest path between point A, point B, the place where you wanna be, is actually finding a coach that tells you what to do and what not to do. That's like the most important thing. And I look at kind of like education in three steps, which is like you have your free education, which is like the stuff that we do on social media. We give away our best stuff, like to be honest.

Codie Sanchez 32:56 Mm-hmm.

Dan Go 32:56 We tell you, like, what the, what the sauce is already. Then you have your courses, which is do it yourself. This is the system. You do it yourself. Then you have the most important one, which is the coach. I think that's the most important one because the coach is gonna call you on your bullshit. They're gonna keep you accountable. They're gonna say, "Don't do this. Avoid this mistake. Uh, watch out for that." Okay, cool. We're good. And for me, it's like that's probably the most important thing, but if you can't actually do that, then we have to do it by ourselves. If we have to do it by ourselves, what can we do? Well, number one is is what we just talked about, theory of constraints. Okay, so I know I have to eat healthy. I know I have to work out. I know I have to sleep well, whatever. Okay, what is like the number one thing that I can work on right now that I will subordinate everything-

Codie Sanchez 33:39 Mm

Dan Go 33:39 ... to just work on this thing? And the thing about theory of constraints is you subordinate everything. You work on that one thing, that one little habit that's just holding you back, whether it's binge eating at night, whether it's snacking, whether it's not working out. Like, whatever it is, you just focus on that one thing. And then what you have to do is you have to get support on it. You have to find... Actually, you have to find out awareness around it. Why am I not doing this? What is the reason? Then you have to get support. Then you have to make sure that you just track that habit over and over and over until it becomes a part of your life.

Codie Sanchez 34:10 Mm.

Dan Go 34:10 And then after you're done that, you go on to the next thing. The thing that people want is like this whole body transformation, you know, get abs in six weeks, or whatever it is. But the reality of the matter is is that getting into the best health of your life is about incremental changes that you're making over the course of a year, two years, even sometimes like three years. And one thing that I always ask my clients, 'cause a lot of clients just come to me, they wanna lose weight. Cool. All right? And I'm just like, "Okay, cool." Like, "Hey, uh, John, how long did it take you to, to gain this weight?" And they're like, "Yeah, ever since I started my business five years ago, I just like started gaining weight, and I just haven't... Like, everything else in my life is great, but this, this part I, I just can't get a handle on." "Cool. How long are you giving yourself to lose this weight?" He's like, "Six weeks."

Codie Sanchez 34:56 [laughs]

Dan Go 34:57 I'm like, "What?" [laughs] Like, dude. And so I have this mantra with... that I try to impart to my clients, which is like, as long as it takes. If it takes a year, cool. If it takes even like a year and a half, cool. But what you're doing is when you give yourself an elongated time horizon to do this, you're giving yourself the chance to make mistakes. You're giving yourself the chance to find out things that work for you. You're giving yourself the chance to fall on your face-

Codie Sanchez 35:24 Mm

Dan Go 35:24 ... and to f- to know what that looks like, to step on a scale and to see that, "Hey, I'm doing everything I can, but the weight's still going up. Like, what's happening?" It gives yourself the ability to actually create that objectiveness around your body, as opposed to the emotionality that a lot of people, like a lot of people bring to it.

Codie Sanchez 35:41 Yeah. What are, um- What do you think are some... I hate to use the word hacks here.

Dan Go 35:47 [laughs]

Codie Sanchez 35:48 What's a better way to ask this question? Sometimes I think when you understand a framework, a framework can accelerate your path to success.

Dan Go 35:55 Yes.

Codie Sanchez 35:56 Because you're like, "All right, I see a highway that I can drive down." There's like this framework we've already existed on. If I drive on a highway, I go faster than if I drive on a back street.

Dan Go 36:04 Yes.

Codie Sanchez 36:04 Like, we just know that this one moves faster than the other.

Dan Go 36:07 Mm-hmm.

Codie Sanchez 36:07 You have one framework which I really liked to determine if you're actually hungry or if you're eating for some other reason-

Dan Go 36:14 Mm-hmm

Codie Sanchez 36:14 ... which was called the Apple Test.

Dan Go 36:16 Yes. The... And hunger is, like, a huge thing, especially for people who are trying to get lean, 'cause, like, hunger's gonna pop up, right? Like, you can't do anything about it, especially if you're in a caloric deficit. So but a lot of times, like, we have to understand there's, like, three levels of hunger. There's, like, hormonal hunger, which is, like, leptin, ghrelin. They're popping up and saying, "Hey, what's up? Like, I'm kinda like, we're kinda fucked up right here, but remember, we wanna eat a little bit." And there's also the actual physiological hunger, which is like, "Hey, what's up, Dan? You haven't had a meal for, like, 12 hours. Like, you, you gotta eat." And then you have what is called hedonic hunger, which is like, am I hungry because I'm bored, or am I hungry because I'm actually hungry? And then this is where the Apple Test comes in. So the thing about apples is that they're 68% water, they are nutrient dense, and not a lot... I'm gonna say, like, the vast majority of people do not crave apples or eating apples whatsoever.

Codie Sanchez 37:11 Mm-hmm.

Dan Go 37:11 So I say eat the apple. See what happens. Wait 20 minutes. Keep yourself busy. Are you gonna be hungry afterwards? If you're still hungry, then maybe you actually are hungry, right? If you're not hungry, then you just saved yourself maybe 500 to 1,000 calories of, like, eating whatever junk food that's around you. So I like to have protocols. For me, systems is everything. Like, if I'm running a successful business, I need to have systems. If I'm running a successful body, I need to have systems. And I think that the main thing that people are missing are these protocols and systems in their lives when these things pop up.

Codie Sanchez 37:47 How much of your clientele is starting to use things like Ozempic now? And do you like... And I use Ozempic-

Dan Go 37:54 Mm

Codie Sanchez 37:54 ... because it's the easier word for everybody to know.

Dan Go 37:55 For sure.

Codie Sanchez 37:56 But what do you think about Ozempic? Should we be using it?

Dan Go 38:00 I think for people who are morbidly obese, absolutely. Uh, just being morbidly obese and having way too much weight on your body, then you are gonna benefit from not having that much weight on your body. For someone who has, like, 20 or 30 pounds to lose, who's kind of, like, looking at it as, like, this, hey, hack that I, I can use just to, like, help myself lose the 20 to 30 pounds, I'm gonna say you should probably chill out a little bit and-

Codie Sanchez 38:26 Mm

Dan Go 38:26 ... and kind of give yourself a little bit more discernment because the thing that we're realizing about these drugs is the fact that, hey, when you get off of it, guess what's gonna happen to the hunger? It's gonna come back. These are almost like forever drugs, so to speak.

Codie Sanchez 38:40 Mm.

Dan Go 38:40 You're gonna have to take them for pretty much, I would say, like, the rest of your life. Also, the thing that we're realizing is that people are using this as, like, a hack to lose weight. They're actually burning off the thing that is the longevity organ of your body, which is muscle. Like, I've seen people go on Ozempic and not eat high protein, not do resistance training, and then we're starting to see that people are coming up with osteoporosis.

Codie Sanchez 39:07 Yes.

Dan Go 39:07 Starting to see people lose a shit ton of lean mass. Do you know what happens to your metabolism when you lose a lot of lean mass? And yes, like, yes, you wanna eat high protein, yes, you wanna do resistance training, but a lot of people are using this as, like, this quick fix just to lose a lot of weight. The percentage of people who are inside of our program who want to use these drugs or are on these drugs is zero. Absolute zero. But I'll tell you this, we're working with entrepreneurs, executives, professionals, high fucking achievers. So when it comes to the high achiever, it doesn't mean that they're not going to use Ozempic, especially if they're morbidly obese. That's not, that's not what I'm saying. What I am saying is, is that most of the times, these guys are willing to do the hard work.

Codie Sanchez 39:49 Yeah.

Dan Go 39:49 And they're willing to do the work it takes to discipline themselves, to actually follow a program, and Ozempic is, like, the last resort for them. For them, the first resort is like, "Hey, let's get our behaviors fixed." So I actually did have one client who was on Ozempic, did great, but we had an escape plan.

Codie Sanchez 40:08 Mm.

Dan Go 40:08 We created an escape plan [laughs] for Ozempic because we knew that the hunger was gonna come back. We knew that he was gonna start to feel uncontrollable cravings. So-

Codie Sanchez 40:17 What was the escape plan?

Dan Go 40:18 Oh, the escape plan was, "Hey, like, you and I are gonna talk on the phone every single day. We're gonna track, like, exactly what's going into your body. We're gonna make sure that you're eating enough fiber. We're gonna make sure you're still eating enough protein."

Codie Sanchez 40:29 Mm-hmm.

Dan Go 40:29 "We're gonna make sure that you're not going to stress yourself out with, like, long-endurance cardio or anything like that. We're just gonna walk, and then what we're gonna do is we're gonna have to go through what I call the struggle bus period." [laughs] The struggle bus period is, like, the three to even six months where your hunger is going to be elevated as a result of getting off of Ozempic. So we just wanna make sure there's an escape plan. Uh, just like anything else, with any medication, there has to be an escape plan for

Dan Go 40:55 it, and then we have to keep... We have to actually keep him highly accountable to abiding by the escape plan.

Codie Sanchez 41:01 It's fascinating, actually, because no doctors give you an escape plan for medicine.

Dan Go 41:06 No.

Codie Sanchez 41:06 I mean, for, for cholesterol levels. You're just on cholesterol medicine for the rest of your life.

Dan Go 41:12 Yes.

Codie Sanchez 41:13 Then you add whatever blood thinner you need on top of it. Then you add something else, and no part of that is a mandate for you to walk more and eat less.

Dan Go 41:23 I, I feel like the health system is a system of learned helplessness-

Codie Sanchez 41:27 Mm

Dan Go 41:27 ... where they will, uh... They will give you the medication. They'll be like, "Hey, you gotta walk, you gotta do all this kind of stuff," but, but really, it's just like they will also, I would say, recommend you being on this medication. And I don't wanna go through the whole, like, oh, they're making money off it, they're not making money, whatever, you know? The thing is, is that- Unfortunately, people want this too

Codie Sanchez 41:53 Mm-hmm

Dan Go 41:53 That's what people want. They actually want the magic pill-

Codie Sanchez 41:57 Yep

Dan Go 41:57 ... and they're willing to deal with the side effects as a result of taking this pill. To me, there's no free lunch out there.

Codie Sanchez 42:04 Mm-hmm.

Dan Go 42:04 There, there's absolutely zero free lunch when it comes to any kind of medication, any kind of thing that you're putting into your body. Uh, for eating nutrient-dense foods, high protein, whatever, the fr- the, it's not a free lunch either. There's effort. Like, that's, that's the actual cost. For all this stuff, the free lunch is side effects. The free lunch is having to be on this stuff for the rest of your life, whatever this stuff is gonna cost you for the rest of your life. And w- when I go back and I'm just like, "Hey, you really should like, you know, hit the gym like three times a week and, you know, work out with weights," they're like, "Do I really have to? Like, I just wanna take this pill." And I feel like it's a, you know, a lot of doctors catch a lot of flack for recommending these drugs, but the unfortunate thing is is that it is the consumer-

Codie Sanchez 42:46 Mm

Dan Go 42:46 ... that actually is asking for this stuff. Notwithstanding the shitty things that are happening with like pharma advertising, the, you know, the, all the advertising that's happening with pharma that actually pushes this stuff and psyops people-

Codie Sanchez 42:58 Mm

Dan Go 42:58 ... into wanting to take this stuff, that shit is fucking... I will say that's like evil.

Codie Sanchez 43:05 Yeah, I agree.

Dan Go 43:05 Right? So-

Codie Sanchez 43:07 I agree

Dan Go 43:07 ... so it's, it's a confluence of um, a lot of things, and I try not to blame doctors for this kind of stuff, but, but again, everyone is complicit.

Codie Sanchez 43:14 Yeah, we're all a product of our environment too.

Dan Go 43:16 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 43:16 You know, one of the things that I think is really interesting about you is all these high performers that you work with.

Dan Go 43:20 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 43:20 And you talk a lot about the connection between the body and increased cognition-

Dan Go 43:26 Yeah

Codie Sanchez 43:26 ... in your brain.

Dan Go 43:27 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 43:27 What have you found with high performers? And if they get their body more healthy, what happens to their brain?

Dan Go 43:35 They make more money. That's number one. Uh, we hit r- record-breaking revenue months almost with, I would say, like 75% of our clients. Like, some of them are just like just masters at making money, but at the same time, uh, for, for a lot of people because... I- I- it's, it's not really... It is about the cognition-

Codie Sanchez 43:52 Mm

Dan Go 43:52 ... but to me, it's more about the emotional control.

Codie Sanchez 43:55 Mm.

Dan Go 43:55 It's more about the decision-making. So when what we know about, especially when we get rid of visceral fat, when we get rid of belly fat, when we get rid of that stuff, what happens as a result is the brain start to work better.

Codie Sanchez 44:06 Mm.

Dan Go 44:07 Uh, you start to amplify and start to grow areas in your brain, uh, that are responsible for decision-making and emotional control. I actually sent out this, uh, this tweet before. People got pissed at me, but fuck it, whatever. [laughs] It's just like, if you have a, if you have a big belly, it's gonna fuck up your brain, bar none, okay?

Codie Sanchez 44:26 Interesting.

Dan Go 44:26 Like, it i- it is. And then people are like, "No, it's not true," and whatever. It's like, just, just Google this, bro. Just, just Google this. Like, I don't have to tell you what the evidence is. Like, we all know this stuff. This is all just basic.

Codie Sanchez 44:36 And but why is that? And visceral fat is, is... Explain visceral fat quickly.

Dan Go 44:40 Visceral fat is the most dangerous fat that's on the body. We should not be aiming to have like absolute zero visceral fat on our bodies, but we should be aiming to have at least healthy, uh, amounts of visceral fat. When we have too much visceral fat on our bodies, it sets us up for a lifetime of preventable disease, things like type 2 diabetes, things like certain cancers, uh, Alzheimer's. Uh, and, and this is very much a lifestyle thing. It's about the foods that you put into your body. It's about the exercise that you do. And for me, it's like my, my full thing is... And this is actually more prevalent for guys than it is for girls.

Codie Sanchez 45:14 Mm.

Dan Go 45:15 For guys, because they have like the beer belly, that is a sign of having visceral fat. And if you wanna check like how much visceral fat or whether or not I have too much, we go through the waist-to-height ratio, right? So it's like, okay, what is your height in inches, and what is your waist in inches? If it's above 50%, you probably have way too much visceral fat. You're probably at a dangerous level right now.

Codie Sanchez 45:34 Mm.

Dan Go 45:34 And you know what? A lot of people are at that level. [laughs]

Codie Sanchez 45:38 Yeah.

Dan Go 45:39 This is an aside, but I, I posted this like before picture of myself, like, uh, when I was... Actually, a before picture when I was like in my 20s, like before I changed my body, and a before picture 'cause, uh, when I, when my second daughter came about, I, you know, got myself out of shape. And then when I posted that, a lot of guys were saying about the before pictures like, "Hey, like I, I'd like to look at like that. I'd actually like to look like that body right there," the before picture, like the fat one. And then for me, I'm 45 years old. I remember 20 years ago, I was like, "That was actually considered fat-

Codie Sanchez 46:12 Yeah

Dan Go 46:12 ... back then."

Codie Sanchez 46:13 Yeah.

Dan Go 46:13 Standards have inflated large, large a- large amounts. Now that's not... Now that's actually considered to be healthy. But when we know about metabolic health, like anything above like s- say for a guy, like 20% body fat is going to be metabolically unhealthy.

Codie Sanchez 46:27 Mm.

Dan Go 46:28 But standards change. Even right now, they're like lowering the standard for like testosterone, saying like, "Okay, you shouldn't have this much. You should actually have like around like 500," or whatever. But I digress.

Codie Sanchez 46:38 And you think that that is wrong. They're just averaging out to what society is today.

Dan Go 46:44 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 46:44 And because most people have lower testosterone, they're saying, "This is average." You're like, "Yeah, but it's not good-

Dan Go 46:49 Yeah

Codie Sanchez 46:49 ... for anybody."

Dan Go 46:50 They're moving the goalpost.

Codie Sanchez 46:51 Wow.

Dan Go 46:51 That's what they're doing. Like, they're just moving the goalpost. And there is something to be said. I, I, I don't wanna get into kind of like the, the overarching kind of like idea of what testosterone is, but they've done studies where it's like when you have more testosterone in your body, when you're, when a guy has more testosterone in his body, he becomes more of an independent thinker. W- also, like if you have your body in shape, if you are metabolically healthy, I, I label it as like you are less likely to be controlled-

Codie Sanchez 47:18 Yeah

Dan Go 47:18 ... 'cause you have agency. You are, you have actually high agency. Any person who's in shape, you can actually say, "Hey, this guy has high agency, at least when it comes to his health"-

Codie Sanchez 47:29 Yeah

Dan Go 47:29 ... because you're willing to do what it takes to keep yourself in shape.

Codie Sanchez 47:31 Discipline, yeah.

Dan Go 47:31 It's discipline.

Codie Sanchez 47:33 How do they show increased independent thinking with decreased, let's say, visceral fat or, uh, increased muscle? How would they-

Dan Go 47:42 There's more correlation with the testosterone thing than-

Codie Sanchez 47:45 Oh, just-

Dan Go 47:45 ... it is with the visceral fat.

Codie Sanchez 47:46 So how do they measure that?

Dan Go 47:49 I believe they have done correlation studies between the amount of times like, or the amount of testosterone people have on their bodies- And the actual, like, studies or actually, like, stats that they would pull from, like, surveys.

Codie Sanchez 48:01 Interesting.

Dan Go 48:02 Uh, but yeah, I, I will say that-

Codie Sanchez 48:04 We'll find it

Dan Go 48:04 ... yeah, we're gonna find it.

Codie Sanchez 48:05 We'll, we'll, yeah-

Dan Go 48:05 We'll, we'll post it up

Codie Sanchez 48:06 ... we'll link some of the studies and see what, what we find.

Dan Go 48:08 We'll post it up, yeah.

Codie Sanchez 48:09 I mean, it, it's interesting to think that... Now, it makes sense to me that when you have less visceral fat, your body can just be more highly functioning.

Dan Go 48:19 Yes.

Codie Sanchez 48:20 Is that why? So why would your brain grow new neural pathways and actually be more efficient just because you have less fat? What's the ideology there?

Dan Go 48:31 It's about blood flow.

Codie Sanchez 48:32 Yeah.

Dan Go 48:33 So when you have less blood flow going to the brain, what's gonna happen is, is that all of the brain's energy or all of your body's energy is gonna be diverted to the place that needs the most attention, and that is protecting your organs. And the thing that we know about visceral fat is the fact that where it's placed in the body is around your most important organs. It's around, it's around your heart, it's around your liver, it's around your pancreas, it's around your kidneys. So what's gonna happen is, is that all the energy that would be diverted to giving yourself blood flow in the brain is going to be diverted into the place to keep you healthy or to keep you alive inside of visceral fat. And what we know is, is that when you have more visceral fat on your body, it actually leads to more shrinkage in the brain for the areas, I think it's the hippocampus, that has the responsibility of emotional control.

Codie Sanchez 49:18 Fascinating. I had no idea.

Dan Go 49:20 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 49:20 Well, I think, you know, this is the other stuff that's sort of normal now, is to relegate health as something totally self, uh, you know, self-sufficient from wealth.

Dan Go 49:32 Hm.

Codie Sanchez 49:32 We say, "Yeah, well, I'm wealthy because I have a lot of money." Are you-

Dan Go 49:37 Hm

Codie Sanchez 49:37 ... if you're also not healthy? I mean, you have a line that is so beautiful that I go back to a lot, which is that you can have a thousand problems in life until you have a health problem, then you only have one.

Dan Go 49:47 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 49:48 That is so real, and yet we chase these dollar signs, and we go after them because money does equal freedom. But damn-

Dan Go 49:55 Mm-hmm

Codie Sanchez 49:55 ... if we, if I got cancer right now, the rest kind of doesn't matter.

Dan Go 49:59 Well, let's hope that doesn't happen. That's for sure.

Codie Sanchez 50:03 Yeah.

Dan Go 50:03 And, and I liken this to something that's small. So when I play basketball, uh, I remember one time I, I sprained my ankle. If you ever... Have you ever sprained your ankle before?

Codie Sanchez 50:15 Yeah.

Dan Go 50:16 And then you know that walking on your ankle, the only thing that you want in life is just to walk normally at that point.

Codie Sanchez 50:24 Yep.

Dan Go 50:24 That's all you want. 'Cause when you're walking with a sprained ankle, you're like, oh, you're hobbling and all this kind of stuff, and that's something small. Let's, let's bring it to something that's a little bit bigger, say, something like cancer. That puts things into perspective. I remember we, when I was 24 years old and being a complete degenerate, we got this call from, uh, my dad, and he was like... We were in Toronto, or we were in Ontario. He's like, "You gotta come to Niagara. Your mom's in the hospital. You gotta come here quick, 'cause we don't know if she's gonna make it." And we're like, "What the, what the fuck?" Like, we thought our mom was the healthiest person on the planet. We zip down there, and then we go through this six-month ordeal of just dealing with the hospital, being in ICU, all this kind of stuff, until we ultimately lose our mom.

Codie Sanchez 51:20 Hm.

Dan Go 51:20 We ultimately lose Mom, the most important person in my life. And obviously, when you lose your mom, you're depressed, uh, you're grieving. And I remember at that point in time, nothing else mattered. [laughs]

Codie Sanchez 51:36 Hm.

Dan Go 51:36 My friends didn't matter, how much money I would've made, or all these, like, dreams and, like, of, like, whatever, it, it didn't fucking matter. The only thing that mattered was I wanted my mom to be back in my life.

Codie Sanchez 51:48 Hm.

Dan Go 51:49 And let's, like, bring it to someone who's maybe a parent. What's gonna happen if you don't take care of yourself? Okay, let's, let's, let's extrapolate this. So number one, okay, like, God forbid we get a disease, then you're kinda making your family suffer as a result of the fact that you didn't take care of yourself when you could've. And then now they have to take care of you, and now you're being a burden to your family. Let's extrapolate this even further. Uh, let's just say that, uh, you, you can hit the gym three times a week. You're just too lazy to do it. Okay, like, when you're 80 years old, you're gonna have to have your kids look after you. You're not gonna be independent. They're gonna be worrying about you all the freaking time, unless they're, like, gonna throw you in the nursing home, which is even worse.

Codie Sanchez 52:44 Hm.

Dan Go 52:45 So my whole thing is, and, and I've said this before, where it's like part of the reason I get in shape is, and keeping my body in shape is, so I don't become a burden to my family, [laughs] you know?

Codie Sanchez 52:55 Do you think that you can... I- are there studies and data that says that if you are healthy, you have a decreased chance of having dementia?

Dan Go 53:05 Absolutely. I, I mean, I can't pull those studies, you know, right off the bat, but to me, there is the genetic component of having dementia or having Alzheimer's, and then there's also the epigenetic component, where you have the ability to transform your genes through your lifestyle, through the foods that you eat, through the exercise that you do. A lot of people are like, "Oh, yeah, like I'm, I'm stuck with this gene," or, "I don't have, like, good genetics," or whatever. But the thing is, is that you can actually change your genes through epigenetics, through kind of like your behaviors, through what you do right now. And the really cool thing that we're learning is that this can be generational. So let's just say, like, you're overweight. You get yourself in shape, and then you end up, uh, having a kid. And you end up kind of like kicking the can, 90 years old, whatever it is, like you're gone. You don't realize that you just passed down your in-shape genes to that kid.

Codie Sanchez 54:09 Mm.

Dan Go 54:10 You also don't realize that you left an imprint on how you took care of your body on that kid. So for me, it's like one of the greatest things that you can do for your kids is, like, lift the generational curse of not being in shape, of not having good, healthy behaviors. And the more that you can do that, the more that you're creating this kind of like family and this behavior of wealth inside of your family, you are setting up your, your generation, you're setting up your family for generations to come.

Codie Sanchez 54:37 Mm. It's fascinating. My grandparents right now are... Two of them have dementia. One is pretty late stage, um-

Dan Go 54:46 Sorry to hear.

Codie Sanchez 54:47 Thank you.

Dan Go 54:48 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 54:48 It's really a terrible disease.

Dan Go 54:50 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 54:50 And so I've been spending more time with my family and them. And, um, the tough part about both of them is, you know, they, they kinda stopped being mobile.

Dan Go 55:01 Mm.

Codie Sanchez 55:02 And so they stopped being mobile way before they needed to. You know, my grandmother got a knee surgery and really stopped being mobile after the knee surgery. They got kinda shut down during COVID, right?

Dan Go 55:14 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 55:14 So then they started... stopped having interpersonal interaction. My grandfather got macular degeneration, so he stopped being able to see well, which meant he couldn't walk as much and go in his garden. And I very quickly saw over the course... I mean, it was fascinating how fast it happened. Over the course of about a year or two, just their, their health completely collapsed.

Dan Go 55:33 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 55:34 And I think a lot of the impetus of it was this lack of movement.

Dan Go 55:38 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 55:38 Um, and, and, you know, they hadn't ever been, like, wildly healthy, um, but they made a lot of their own food, and they were very, very active.

Dan Go 55:47 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 55:47 And then that stopped.

Dan Go 55:48 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 55:48 And then I compare that with my grandmother, who is gonna be 100 next month.

Dan Go 55:53 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 55:53 And she motors.

Dan Go 55:54 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 55:54 I mean, that woman played golf until she was 93, I think, and walks around, takes care of herself, does physical therapy, and is so sharp cognitively because of it.

Dan Go 56:06 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 56:06 And it, I sort of... It's like the tale of two families.

Dan Go 56:09 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 56:09 You know, we can go to the left and, or we could go to the right.

Dan Go 56:12 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 56:12 And I see similar patterns actually in my parents. And so, you know, my mom's super active now. She's gotten really into Pilates and working out.

Dan Go 56:20 Nice.

Codie Sanchez 56:20 And my dad's side of the family, just not as much. And so watching that transcend to my brother versus how I am is, you're absolutely right.

Dan Go 56:30 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 56:30 You carry a lineage that you are passing down to your children that you have the ability to affect the outcome on.

Dan Go 56:35 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 56:35 And you have to ask yourself, "Am I not willing to only die for them, but might I live for them?"

Dan Go 56:42 100%. And I don't... I'm sorry to hear about your grandparents.

Codie Sanchez 56:47 Thank you.

Dan Go 56:47 Yeah. Um, the thing that, the thing that kind of strikes out to me a little bit is when you stop moving, that also makes you a little bit more morose-

Codie Sanchez 57:02 Yeah

Dan Go 57:02 ... and depressed.

Codie Sanchez 57:03 Mm.

Dan Go 57:04 You start to have more negative thoughts too, and because you're just not moving your body. And to me, it's like the movement

Dan Go 57:11 is, it's almost like there's this hamster that's, that's inside of the wheel.

Codie Sanchez 57:15 Yeah.

Dan Go 57:15 And you have to keep the hamster moving. You have to keep the hamster moving all the time, and if you stop it, it is the old, uh, ada- or the old, uh, saying where it's like you, you lose it, or you use it or you lose it.

Codie Sanchez 57:27 Mm-hmm.

Dan Go 57:28 And for me, one of the things that, uh, I, I constantly remember is, like, I have a, I have a really close friend, and his grandparents lived until 99 and 100. What did they do every day? They walked two to three miles no matter what the weather was.

Codie Sanchez 57:46 Yeah.

Dan Go 57:47 They cooked their own meals. Uh, I met my first centen- or actually I met, uh, probably my second centenarian. So she was in, uh, Haleʻiwa in Hawaii, and sharp as a tack. And I asked her, I was like, "You're, you're my second centenarian that I've ever met. Uh, why? Like, w- what happened?" And then, uh, she was like, "I play tennis. I go out. I still drink margaritas. I still eat tacos. But I stay active. I keep my weight, you know, pretty stable, and I have fun." And then I... She was, like, the happiest person I've ever met, too.

Codie Sanchez 58:30 Yeah.

Dan Go 58:30 Big smiles. So, so my whole thing is just, like, you have to constantly keep yourself in motion-

Codie Sanchez 58:35 Mm

Dan Go 58:35 ... no matter... Because the whole thing about life right now is like, how can we make you as comfortable as humanly possible?

Codie Sanchez 58:41 [laughs] That is true.

Dan Go 58:43 To me, comfort is a drug.

Codie Sanchez 58:45 Yeah.

Dan Go 58:45 That's the, that's the most addictive drug on the planet right now. It's like how can we stop you from moving? Even this whole thing with, like, robotics and, like, all this stuff, like, how can we stop you from cleaning your home? How can we stop you from doing your dishes? How can we stop you from gardening? How can we make life easier for you? And my whole thing is like, you don't want life to be easy. Like, once life is actually easy for you, that's when all the shit hits the fan.

Codie Sanchez 59:11 Mm.

Dan Go 59:11 That's when you see the slow degradation of the way in which you should have lived.

Codie Sanchez 59:16 Mm.

Dan Go 59:16 So for me, it's like keep yourself in motion. Yes, there are ways to do it. You, you wanna be lifting weights, obviously. You wanna be eating a nutrient-dense diet. You wanna be focusing on your sleep. But, but give a fuck about your health.

Codie Sanchez 59:31 Yeah.

Dan Go 59:32 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 59:33 Are you still friends, close friends, with people who are really unhealthy?

Dan Go 59:38 Am I still, am I still close? That's a very good question, actually. Yes, I am, and I have people on my team who are somewhat not as healthy or metabolically unhealthy. And for me, it's, uh, it's about the person. It's not necessarily about their behaviors.

Codie Sanchez 59:58 Yeah.

Dan Go 59:58 Uh, but

Dan Go 1:00:00 yes. Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 1:00:00 Do you think that being unhealthy or being fit is contagious?

Dan Go 1:00:08 To a certain degree, yes. Uh, but will it be contagious for everybody? It depends on how much resistance that they're seeing inside themselves.

Codie Sanchez 1:00:16 Mm.

Dan Go 1:00:17 Also depends, like, how sensitive they are as well. I remember, um, I had a conversation with, uh, with a guy who used to be my friend. And [laughs] and for me, I'm, I'm actually of the, of the mind of, like, hey, if, if I'm a friend, I gotta be straight up with you, right? And I hadn't seen this guy for probably, like, three to five years, or actually probably three years, and he had gained probably, I would say, like, 40 to 50 pounds on his body. First time seeing him, I'm like, "Whoa." And my wife was just like, "Whoa." Like, holy crap, what happened? So we're walking down the street one day, and I was like, "Yo, I- are we gonna do something about this? Like, I, I'm willing to help. What do you need?" And then he was just like, "Ugh." And then I, I, I just pretty much ran up against a brick wall. "Dan, you don't know what I'm going through. You don't know what's happening in my life, and you don't know this and you don't know that." I'm just like, "Like, I, I never asked that. I just wanna know if you need help." And for a lot of people, they are stuck in this story of why they can't get in shape, of, like, why they can't do this stuff, of, like, why this is all happening to them. And for me, it's like, me being, like, the, the guy that I am, it's like I, I almost, like, turned from, like, a Type B to, like, a Type A personality by just getting my body in shape and being, like, a hard driver, being so motivated. For me, it's almost like I, I don't know why people would not want to do this.

Codie Sanchez 1:01:58 Mm-hmm.

Dan Go 1:01:59 Because do you not want to have more energy? Do you not want to make more money? Do you not want to be more confident? And all it is is that people have this story around the reasons why they can't get in shape.

Codie Sanchez 1:02:12 Mm-hmm.

Dan Go 1:02:12 And as long as you're actually just still be stuck in that reason, then it's just not gonna happen.

Codie Sanchez 1:02:16 Mm. Yeah, my dad always says you can't teach desire.

Dan Go 1:02:19 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 1:02:20 And so, uh, but I do think, to your point, you can stimulate somebody else to desire a thing that they truly want.

Dan Go 1:02:28 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 1:02:28 And it sounds like that's what you do. It's by getting to that root and then saying, "Hey, are you aware that this idea is what's holding you back?" And then they might have the desire to fix that.

Dan Go 1:02:38 I would hope so. It depends on the person. [laughs]

Codie Sanchez 1:02:41 [laughs] Can you tell right away if somebody will do the things that they need to do to change their health or not?

Dan Go 1:02:47 Are we-

Codie Sanchez 1:02:47 Do you have, like, a 60-second-

Dan Go 1:02:49 [laughs]

Codie Sanchez 1:02:50 ... gut reaction to it by now after-

Dan Go 1:02:52 Yeah

Codie Sanchez 1:02:52 ... 20 years?

Dan Go 1:02:52 Definitely. Are we talking about someone that's, like, hiring me, or are we talking about-

Codie Sanchez 1:02:55 Yeah

Dan Go 1:02:56 ... someone that's, like, uh-

Codie Sanchez 1:02:57 Like, do you have questions that you go through that you're like-

Dan Go 1:02:58 Oh

Codie Sanchez 1:02:58 ... "Well, you're not gonna make it, I can already tell"?

Dan Go 1:03:00 Uh, okay, there's actually a, uh, there's actually a line that people use where I'm like, "You're not gonna make it."

Codie Sanchez 1:03:07 Mm.

Dan Go 1:03:08 And the line that they use when they hire me is, like, "I'm gonna be your best client ever."

Codie Sanchez 1:03:13 That's a, that's a red flag?

Dan Go 1:03:14 That's the red flag.

Codie Sanchez 1:03:16 Wow.

Dan Go 1:03:16 Because to me, in, in this, in... I'm like, "Cool, I would love for you to be my best client ever. I would love for you to have, like, a before and after." But what I, what I've come to realize is that why you're doing it is probably the wrong reason. You're doing it for external validation. You're not doing it for an intrinsic motivation to get yourself healthy, to, uh, make yourself feel better, to become a better version of yourself. You're doing it, you're saying, "I'm gonna be your best client ever." I'm just like, "Oh, crap, that's, like, the death knell. I wish you hadn't said that to me." And then for me, I'll automatically be like, "No, no, no, no, like, do this for yourself. I don't care. Like, you're hiring me. Do this for yourself." But when people say that, I'm au- automatically being like, "You're, you're probably doing this for the wrong reason at this very moment."

Codie Sanchez 1:04:03 That's so fascinating.

Dan Go 1:04:05 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 1:04:05 All right. We have a little exercise we do at the end of every podcast.

Dan Go 1:04:09 Okay.

Codie Sanchez 1:04:10 You ready?

Dan Go 1:04:11 I think so. I think so. [laughs]

Codie Sanchez 1:04:12 [laughs] Okay. We give you this card, and on it, you write a little letter to either young Dan, maybe-

Dan Go 1:04:19 Mm

Codie Sanchez 1:04:19 ... it's 24-year-old Dan, or to the 24-year-old Dans listening in in the audience. What would you tell them? And then, um, you can choose to read whatever you want from that letter afterwards on the podcast.

Dan Go 1:04:31 Oh, man.

Codie Sanchez 1:04:32 So we're gonna just give you a few minutes. We'll step out.

Dan Go 1:04:33 Okay. All right.

Codie Sanchez 1:04:34 And then you think about it. We'll come right back, okay?

Dan Go 1:04:35 And this is a message to 20, 24-year-old Dan.

Codie Sanchez 1:04:38 Yeah.

Dan Go 1:04:38 Okay. Oh my gosh.

Codie Sanchez 1:04:40 So what do you wanna read to us-

Dan Go 1:04:42 Ah

Codie Sanchez 1:04:42 ... that you would tell young Dan?

Dan Go 1:04:43 Oh, man. All right. Dear Dan, first off, let's get this out of the way. I love you. I love you regardless if you're a degenerate or a multimillionaire, but let's be straight up. Right now, you're not living up to your full potential. There is a world awaiting you, but only if you choose to pick yourself up and take responsibility for your life. You are so much more than you are showing right now. Lean into your resistance and trust that there's a plan for you. And this is actually a, a line my mom would always tell me. Uh, when I would sit across from her desk, she would sit me down at our conference table. She would have this talk with me every single time I was fucking up, and then the line was, "You can do anything, you can do anything you put your mind to. And, uh, it's time to show the world what you can do. I love you. Signed, Dan Go."

Codie Sanchez 1:05:37 Ah.

Dan Go 1:05:37 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 1:05:38 So beautiful.

Dan Go 1:05:39 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 1:05:39 Dan Go.

Dan Go 1:05:40 Dan Go. Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 1:05:42 Oh my gosh.

Dan Go 1:05:42 I appreciate it.

Codie Sanchez 1:05:43 I love this. We are gonna keep them.

Dan Go 1:05:44 Thank you.

Codie Sanchez 1:05:45 Yeah, and we're gonna put them into a book for everybody.

Dan Go 1:05:48 Oh, wow. [laughs]

Codie Sanchez 1:05:48 And it's, it's just, like, a little lovely reminding... I think sometimes, like, when we're on stages like this, people think that we're whatever we are.

Dan Go 1:05:55 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 1:05:56 And even if we're giving advice or telling our stories, like, we've been in all the highs and lows between all of us. We're all a mess.

Dan Go 1:06:04 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 1:06:04 So I think it's really a beautiful thing to share.

Dan Go 1:06:06 Thank you. Thank you. And, um- It's, it's something to be said about the people that we see on social media, where it's like we have to understand that we're talking to human beings right here.

Codie Sanchez 1:06:20 100%.

Dan Go 1:06:20 Yeah. Yeah

Codie Sanchez 1:06:21 He's super flawed. [laughs]

Dan Go 1:06:23 Extremely flawed.

Codie Sanchez 1:06:24 Super fucked up, and just, like, trying to human as much as we can.

Dan Go 1:06:27 Yeah. And I, I think about this often, where it's just like, and the scope and the scale, it, it varies, but it's just like you're speaking to millions of people, and you're also getting the feedback from millions of people.

Codie Sanchez 1:06:43 Yep.

Dan Go 1:06:44 And I don't know what it's like to be a girl. I don't know what it's like to be a woman. But when I look at social media, I'm like, "Holy shit, women get it way worse than guys do." [laughs]

Codie Sanchez 1:06:55 [laughs]

Dan Go 1:06:56 I'm like, "God damn."

Codie Sanchez 1:06:56 It's so weird.

Dan Go 1:06:58 Like, especially from guys.

Codie Sanchez 1:06:59 So-

Dan Go 1:06:59 Like, what's up with that? Like, anyways, but-

Codie Sanchez 1:07:01 I don't know

Dan Go 1:07:01 ... it's, it's a, it's, it's a weird game that we're in right now, and I think this is, like, something that no one has ever navigated in our lives. And, uh, and I think both of us are doing a pretty damn good job of it. I think you're doing a great job of it as well.

Codie Sanchez 1:07:14 Right back at you.

Dan Go 1:07:15 Thank you.

Codie Sanchez 1:07:15 Thank you.

Dan Go 1:07:16 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 1:07:16 Yeah, it, well, it's always good... You know what I remi- re- really helps me is, like, meeting other people that are online.

Dan Go 1:07:21 Yeah

Codie Sanchez 1:07:21 Not, not for the clout or for... It's like to text you, and Sahil, and some of our-

Dan Go 1:07:26 Yeah

Codie Sanchez 1:07:26 ... my other friends when stuff's going sideways and going, "Hey, did I do something wrong here?"

Dan Go 1:07:30 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 1:07:30 "Or is this, like, being taken away?"

Dan Go 1:07:33 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 1:07:33 You know? Did... Should, should I be changing? Am I presenting myself some way, or do I have to just, like, ignore the noise?

Dan Go 1:07:39 [inhales]

Codie Sanchez 1:07:39 And it's really helpful to have friends that'll tell you straight up-

Dan Go 1:07:42 Yeah

Codie Sanchez 1:07:42 ... you know, the truth.

Dan Go 1:07:43 Yeah. It's, uh, it's one thing to hear it from, like, your family, and be like, "Hey, don't worry about it," whatever. But it's... I, I mean, that's why this whole creator space, it's such a very intimate space. And, uh, a lot of us know each other, a lot of us, uh, actually meet each other in person, and it's so, it's so beneficial to bounce this stuff off of each other.

Codie Sanchez 1:08:03 A thousand percent.

Dan Go 1:08:04 Uh, and also with, like, the... We were talking about, um, some of the book stuff and the things I'm going through with that. It's just like, it's just so beneficial to talk to someone that understands where that person is coming from, the things that they are going through, the decisions that they have to make in their lives. And, uh, and yeah, I'm, I'm grateful that, uh, I'm friends with a lot of the people that I interact with online, so.

Codie Sanchez 1:08:28 Yeah, same.

Dan Go 1:08:29 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 1:08:29 Yeah, and it does. You really quickly figure out who your real homie's with or not too-

Dan Go 1:08:32 Yeah. Yeah

Codie Sanchez 1:08:32 ... [laughs] 'cause that's the other one. I always think that I'm friends with everybody. I'm like a golden retriever.

Dan Go 1:08:37 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 1:08:38 And then I'm like, "Oh, wait, we're not friends. You're just charismatic." [laughs]

Dan Go 1:08:41 It's-

Codie Sanchez 1:08:42 Whoops

Dan Go 1:08:42 ... it's so funny because you probably see this depending on the levels of which you jump across.

Codie Sanchez 1:08:51 Yeah.

Dan Go 1:08:52 So, you know, you're homies with someone when you're, like, had 100,000 followers on Instagram, and then you hit a million, and then that homie's just like, "She got too big for her britches," and like, all this-

Codie Sanchez 1:09:04 Right

Dan Go 1:09:04 ... yeah. And it's just like, and for me, I'm like, I still look at that person like, "You're my boy. You're my homie." But it's so weird 'cause they kind of, like, see you as, like, being different in a sense when you're completely the same person as you were when you were at 100,000.

Codie Sanchez 1:09:20 Yep.

Dan Go 1:09:20 Values, everything like that, so.

Codie Sanchez 1:09:22 Yeah.

Dan Go 1:09:23 Yeah. It's, uh, it's, it's weird to see sometimes. Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 1:09:26 I know. I totally get it. I remember when I first met Tim Ferriss and, like, started becoming friendly with him, I didn't understand, 'cause I wasn't very big on the internet thing, that whole, like, not wanting to be public and, um, you know, hi- his essays that he's written on the subject.

Dan Go 1:09:43 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 1:09:43 And now after being a little bit public, I'm like, "Oh, I do get it."

Dan Go 1:09:46 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 1:09:46 It's a huge blessing.

Dan Go 1:09:47 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 1:09:47 Like, oh my God, it's such a huge gift-

Dan Go 1:09:49 Yeah

Codie Sanchez 1:09:50 ... and responsibility. But it also can... If you, if you don't have your head on straight, it can drive you fucking crazy.

Dan Go 1:09:56 So-

Codie Sanchez 1:09:56 And you can turn into a psychopath.

Dan Go 1:09:57 So, so I have this thing where I'm, I'm so blessed that I got started late. And-

Codie Sanchez 1:10:05 Yes

Dan Go 1:10:05 ... I would say, like-

Codie Sanchez 1:10:06 Same

Dan Go 1:10:06 ... when... S- yeah, it's like, uh, maybe you got started at, like, 35 or something.

Codie Sanchez 1:10:10 Yeah.

Dan Go 1:10:10 Whatever.

Codie Sanchez 1:10:10 I think that sounds right.

Dan Go 1:10:11 And it's just like you have the requisite maturity to deal with this stuff.

Codie Sanchez 1:10:16 Yeah.

Dan Go 1:10:16 I can't imagine myself at 20 years old having to deal with this shit.

Codie Sanchez 1:10:19 No, dude, I'd be Justin Bieber today.

Dan Go 1:10:21 Oh, for sure.

Codie Sanchez 1:10:21 He'd be fucking losing it.

Dan Go 1:10:22 Oh, for sure.

Codie Sanchez 1:10:23 Yeah. I mean, he's actually doing pretty good.

Dan Go 1:10:24 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 1:10:24 I'd be Britney Spears. I'd be like those knife cho-... I mean-

Dan Go 1:10:27 Oh my God

Codie Sanchez 1:10:27 ... and it's, you know, honestly, especially because people kind of forget when you get this much attention that you can get in your own head and also turn yourself into a dick.

Dan Go 1:10:36 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 1:10:36 You know?

Dan Go 1:10:36 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 1:10:36 And you can be like, "Everybody's looking." Nobody really cares.

Dan Go 1:10:38 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 1:10:38 They care about, like, 30 seconds online.

Dan Go 1:10:40 Yes.

Codie Sanchez 1:10:41 But then you go into the real world, and people are mostly only nice.

Dan Go 1:10:44 Yes.

Codie Sanchez 1:10:44 You know, unless you're in politics, then I think people are probably mean.

Dan Go 1:10:46 Yeah. That's-

Codie Sanchez 1:10:47 We, s- we're gonna stay out of that.

Dan Go 1:10:48 There's, uh-

Codie Sanchez 1:10:48 I'm gonna stick with bank accounts. You stick with bodies.

Dan Go 1:10:50 100%.

Codie Sanchez 1:10:51 And we'll take it from there.

Dan Go 1:10:52 Yeah, I don't, I don't wanna get into the, that space, but, uh, but yeah.

Codie Sanchez 1:10:55 No, that would be, that would be un-Canadian of you, actually.

Dan Go 1:10:57 Yeah. [laughs]

Codie Sanchez 1:10:58 You know? Don't, aren't you guys, like, too nice?

Dan Go 1:11:00 Oh, man. Uh, no, no, not anymore. Um-

Codie Sanchez 1:11:02 That's actually t- [laughs] that's actually true

Dan Go 1:11:04 ... yeah. We, we don't have that moniker anymore.

Codie Sanchez 1:11:06 Dang it.

Dan Go 1:11:06 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 1:11:06 I know. D- I watched that hockey game the other night-

Dan Go 1:11:08 Oh, yeah

Codie Sanchez 1:11:09 ... where, where they booed the American flag. French Canadians, though.

Dan Go 1:11:12 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 1:11:12 That's a different breed.

Dan Go 1:11:14 Mm. I, I-

Codie Sanchez 1:11:14 I, I like that crew.

Dan Go 1:11:15 Yeah, but the s-

Codie Sanchez 1:11:16 Nick's laughing 'cause he was a hockey player. He knows what's up.

Dan Go 1:11:18 But the thing is, just, oh, like-

Codie Sanchez 1:11:22 We did beat the shit out of you guys then.

Dan Go 1:11:24 Yeah, but-

Codie Sanchez 1:11:24 But then you came back, and then you beat us next time.

Dan Go 1:11:26 I, I-

Codie Sanchez 1:11:26 So now we're all even, and everybody can be cool

Dan Go 1:11:28 ... I don't have that sports thing in me, you know? Like, I don't have that, "Oh, you're, you're..." But I just, I just don't, you know?

Codie Sanchez 1:11:35 [laughs]

Dan Go 1:11:36 And but then at the same time, when the Canadians were booing the Americans, I was just like, "Oh, shit, we got a long way to go, man."

Codie Sanchez 1:11:46 Yeah.

Dan Go 1:11:46 "We got a long way to go if this is happening and, and you're, you're seeing them as the enemy right now."

Codie Sanchez 1:11:51 Yeah, it's true.

Dan Go 1:11:52 It's... Oh, I was just like, it broke my heart when it happened.

Codie Sanchez 1:11:55 Aw.

Dan Go 1:11:55 It did. 'Cause I was just like that's not... I mean, it says so many things-

Codie Sanchez 1:12:00 Yeah

Dan Go 1:12:00 ... that I, I am just not in agreement with whatsoever, so.

Codie Sanchez 1:12:05 Yeah.

Dan Go 1:12:05 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 1:12:06 I agree. Well, we'll let you hang out in America now still then.

Dan Go 1:12:08 I, I, I- [laughs] I was actually telling my fans, like, "Oh, yeah, we're gonna become the 51st state," and they're pretty much, like, locked into the mediascape-

Codie Sanchez 1:12:17 [laughs]

Dan Go 1:12:18 ... and I was there like, "Fuck." And then I was like, "Oh, shit. Okay."

Codie Sanchez 1:12:20 Too soon.

Dan Go 1:12:21 Too soon

Codie Sanchez 1:12:21 Stirring the pot.

Dan Go 1:12:22 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 1:12:22 [laughs]

Dan Go 1:12:23 Yeah. But I'm kinda like, I kinda like, you know, mm, you know?

Codie Sanchez 1:12:26 Would it be the worst thing ever? Yeah, I think that's-

Dan Go 1:12:27 I don't think it'd be bad, you know?

Codie Sanchez 1:12:29 Yeah.

Dan Go 1:12:30 You know?

Codie Sanchez 1:12:30 Yeah, you know, I think, um, I think that if we can't make jokes about stuff like this-

Dan Go 1:12:35 Yeah

Codie Sanchez 1:12:35 ... then we've lost our minds.

Dan Go 1:12:37 100%.

Codie Sanchez 1:12:37 But I'm sure people will tell us in the YouTube comments whether they liked it [laughs]

Dan Go 1:12:40 Oh.

Codie Sanchez 1:12:40 And they'll be like, "The thing is that Dan Go, I'm unfollowing him." [laughs]

Dan Go 1:12:43 Yeah, pretty much.

Codie Sanchez 1:12:44 [laughs]

Dan Go 1:12:45 And it'll be like-

Codie Sanchez 1:12:45 No way. Your Twitter is, and I'm not saying this just 'cause you're on here, but, or X, I can't keep calling it that-

Dan Go 1:12:50 Yeah

Codie Sanchez 1:12:50 ... but is so good.

Dan Go 1:12:51 Thanks.

Codie Sanchez 1:12:51 And I go to it a lot, and I think about, like, the way that Dan phrases this for the body is what I think for the bank account. And then I kind of like-

Dan Go 1:12:59 Yeah

Codie Sanchez 1:12:59 ... try to craft, like, I think it's... So it's-

Dan Go 1:13:01 Yeah

Codie Sanchez 1:13:01 ... it really makes me think about things.

Dan Go 1:13:03 Yes.

Codie Sanchez 1:13:04 And so it's, you do a lot more than just talk about health.

Dan Go 1:13:07 Thank you. I, I, uh... And for me, it's like there's so many corollaries between f- the finance and also the fitness.

Codie Sanchez 1:13:15 Mm-hmm.

Dan Go 1:13:16 All of the same principles almost apply.

Codie Sanchez 1:13:18 Yeah.

Dan Go 1:13:19 But then it's just like you just, you have to, it's almost like you tweak them a little bit.

Codie Sanchez 1:13:23 Yeah.

Dan Go 1:13:23 And, uh, and for me, I guess like when you become so deep in, in one little area, then you start to see the world in that area. You start to kind of like mold the world in like, okay, so that's, like, that's why I call it the body dashboard. That's why you have to know your numbers and like all this-

Codie Sanchez 1:13:39 Yeah

Dan Go 1:13:39 ... kind of stuff because that's... I'm both into entrepreneurship and fitness, so it's like, like when you get deep into something, then it, it just becomes this view in which you see the world. Um, and, and you try to kind of expand that a little bit, but, but yeah, I try to do my best. I'm not perfect, but, you know, that's what happens.

Codie Sanchez 1:13:55 No, it's good stuff, man.

Dan Go 1:13:56 Yeah.

Codie Sanchez 1:13:56 Thank you for all the inspiration. You're the man.

Dan Go 1:13:57 I appreciate it.

Codie Sanchez 1:13:58 Dan Go.

Dan Go 1:13:58 I, I look up to you, man.

Codie Sanchez 1:13:59 Oh. [laughs]

Dan Go 1:14:00 I look up to you.

Codie Sanchez 1:14:01 Oh, you really-

Dan Go 1:14:02 Oh my gosh

Codie Sanchez 1:14:02 ... got a laundromat fetish? Is that why you follow them?

Dan Go 1:14:03 Uh, no, I'm, I'm honestly, like, I do, uh, I look at the way in which you present yourself. I look at the way in which you are actually dealing with conflict. Uh, commendable, very commendable because I've seen some shit, and I'm just like, "Okay, cool." Like, she ignores and, you know, doesn't give this shit energy, right?

Codie Sanchez 1:14:26 Yeah.

Dan Go 1:14:26 But at the same time, I, I look at the rocket ship that you're on, and I look at the way in which you are doing things, and it comes from a place where I really do think it's, like, coming from a place where it's like you have this, like, black belt knowledge. You know? [laughs] It's like the black belt, like, sensei knowledge, and then you're doing it in the way that's just so educating and entertaining, and I, I look at-

Codie Sanchez 1:14:48 Yeah

Dan Go 1:14:48 ... I look at your content, and I'm just like, "Okay, cool," like, this is, this is it right here.

Codie Sanchez 1:14:52 Yes.

Dan Go 1:14:52 So yeah.

Codie Sanchez 1:14:53 Nick, you hear that? Are we proud? Yes. [laughs] He goes- Great job ... double thumbs up. [laughs] Great job. No, you guys are doing fantastic work, so yeah. Oh, you're the man. Yeah. Dan Go. Yeah. Thank you so much for having us. Thank you. Dan Go on all the socials. Yeah, Dan Go on all socials. Yay. Yeah. [upbeat music]