Optimize Your Performance And Vitality Through Advanced Metabolic Health Testing With Mauro Stara

Life happens, and not always the way we expect it to. Every single day we face change, stress, and uncertainty. What if you could learn to thrive no matter what life throws your way? Resilience expert Adam Markel and his inspiring guests explore breakthrough strategies to fully embrace change and build the resilience required to become change-proof.

Hey everybody, it's Adam Markel, and Welcome to another episode of the Change Proof Podcast. I am so happy to be in the seat today and really excited for the conversation that I'm about to have. And I want to share a little bit more about this person by reading his bio, and then we're going to dive right in. His name is Mauro Staroppa. He is the founder of Six Pack CEO, a peak performance expert and trusted advisor to successful CEOs and business owners, known as the last resort for those who who are exhausted from Main Street approaches, Mauro specializes in resolving challenges where others have failed. By prioritizing advanced blood work testing and personalized coaching, he tackles the root cause of stagnation— hormones. With his guidance, clients achieve lifelong sustainable transformations, reclaiming vitality and confidence amidst their demanding schedules. That is a lot. But we are literally gonna dive into some of the granular aspects of it and how it is that we can move the needle for our own personal health and wellbeing, as well as our performance as leaders in business and in every other area of our lives. So sit back and enjoy my conversation with Mauro. Okay, Mauro, so I know you hear your bio, your introduction read or said frequently. My question to you, it's very impressive. My question is really, what is one thing that's not in your bio? One thing that you would love for people to know about you at the start of our conversation?

Great question. One of our core values in business, but also one of my personal core values, is being persistent. I just made a post about it today, but I found in life, every time I stayed persistent and didn't just accept a no and turn it in and not now, it has opened so many doors and so many opportunities. across my life, whether that's personal or business. And I found like, would, if we read the book by Chris Voss, Never Split the Difference, kind of talks about it there. He loves the no because he knows, okay, the no means I need to come up with a better offer, a better idea, and eventually can turn it into yes, more so business. But I found like that philosophy has helped me a lot solving problems, advancing a business, but also Advancing in my personal life.

Yeah, that's interesting. And I haven't read that book. Would you say it again just because we'll pick it up for the notes and show notes and folks that may want to get it?

Sure. Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss.

So the through line of that book sounds fascinating. And I'm just curious if you remember, does that mean— is that sort of never compromise? And I'll just say this. I was a lawyer for almost 20 years and splitting the difference, if you will, when it comes to negotiating or ultimately settling disputes, is sort of like an unfortunate aspect of what I've seen in that profession quite frequently. So what does that really mean, not to compromise?

I don't know if Chris would agree with that, but if I had to sum it up, I don't like the title as much. It's more so, well, basic and advanced negotiation tactics and getting a deal that both parties are happy. So I wouldn't say never compromise. He did give the example where he doesn't like meeting in the middle. It's kind of like if the wife says like, I don't like those brown pair of shoes. And the husband says like, well, I really want to wear those black shoes. Then he will have one pair that's brown and one black and nobody's happy. So he gave that example why he doesn't like to meet in the middle, but that's just one part of it. I just think it's more so negotiation tactics and being able to communicate. ideas, better showing empathy. So yeah, I don't feel the title does justice to the value he gives in the book.

Resilience. It's the unsung hero in every success story that you will ever hear about. And in times of massive change and disruption, the kind of rapid change that we're all experiencing as leaders, as business owners, as entrepreneurs, we have to learn how to not only increase our own resilience, but that of our teams. So right now we have a powerful opportunity for you to find out just how resilient you are. Some years ago, my team and I created the resilience assessment that more than 5,000 business leaders across the globe have taken. And all you have to do to get your own free resilience leader assessment is go to resiliencerank.com. It takes less than 3 minutes, and it's our gift to you for being the leader that you already are. Other free resources and tools will accompany your score instantly. So go to resiliencerank.com and find out just how Well, I loved what you said about the idea that if in the process you're diluting your value or diluting what would otherwise be your standard somehow in contributing something just to get a yes or to get over a no or something like that, that probably wouldn't be a great process for bringing out the best in you or bringing out the best in your team or in your organization. Yeah. I mean—

Not at all.

I'm going to get the book. I think that's fascinating. And I'm sure that's not— again, my question was really more just to look into that concept because I think so often it is we really do sort of sell ourselves on a certain frame to see things. And whether it's how we see our bodies or how we see other people and how they view us, maybe that's a good way to leg into the work that you do because in many ways, You are involved directly in how people are feeling and how they perceive their health or how they are experiencing their own health. And, and I wanna talk about that today, 'cause I think that's one of those things you and I chatted about before we hit record. There's a woeful lack of, I think, understanding of health in our world, not just in the United States and where you're— I know you're in Mexico at this moment, but just throughout the world. Yeah. And that's a shame. I was saying to you, I read a book by Casey Means, Dr. Casey Means, called Good Energy. I know you've seen a little bit of it, but basically it's a book about metabolic health and it really debunks a lot of, or sort of pulls back the shade on, on a lot of things that people just don't understand about their own health. So with that, and it's sort of a generalized statement, so maybe introduce to our audience a little bit of where your focus is. Yeah. In that area.

In regards to energy and metabolic health or general—

Yeah, metabolic health, exactly. And, I want to unpack some of that with you.

Absolutely. Yeah. I would say it's one of the core principles or core things we look at. And simultaneously, it's one of the root causes, if not the biggest root cause of many health issues, health complications, diseases in today's world when your metabolic health is not optimal, not optimized. Your insulin resistance, triglycerides are high, inflammation is high, blood pressure is high. And those are all things we can control. And that will just amplify many things in a very negative way depending on— it's all a spectrum, right? If it's a little bit, it's not going to be a big deal. But the more we move to this part of the spectrum, the worse it's going to get. And, the beauty about it, as I said, it's fully in our control through our lifestyle.

Yeah. So, I mean, do you agree with what I said about people just not really having a great understanding about their own health and what they can contribute to create actual better health? I mean, because I think folks will often say, my this, my that, they own their their conditions. And in many ways, I think people have just come to accept those conditions in their lives. I don't know whether it's back pain or it's other aches or it's arthritis or it's diabetes or it's whatever those conditions, or it's being heavier than they think they— than they could be or what have you. So I'm just curious, do you believe that people just are lacking in understanding, if they could only understand their bodies and their metabolic health and their— those other medical terms, which we could talk a little bit about so people can get a greater understanding, but the blood levels and the things that you measure, if they understood those things better, would they really have a hand in changing their health outcomes is what I'm asking you?

Oh, absolutely. I believe people— bigger level of awareness happening over the last 4, 5 years where people discover more and more how much powerful blood testing, genetic testing, other tests, and other information can be, especially with the distrust in authority that happened and the shift to autonomy over the last 4 or 5 years. And, just the expansion with AI, biohacking. Just before this call, I had a client text me. He's in Austin right now at a biohacking conference and there are all these gadgets and tools. So, there's a bigger level of awareness there. But, I think Most people know that they should eat better, they should sleep better, sleep more, they should walk more, exercise. So they know those things to a fundamental level. They know that that will impact their health and how they look. I just believe that they don't know how much more they can do, not just with those things, but by dialing it in a little bit more. And focusing on certain protocols that can reverse or make symptoms better for certain conditions. So, for example, you brought up back pain or arthritis. So, if someone genetically has very poor genes for oxalate metabolism or just oxalate sensitivity and their diet is full of oxalates, which may be on paper healthy foods, right? Like, Spinach, almonds, sweet potatoes, great foods. But for that person, it would be very bad and can cause exactly that, right? Like back pain, joint pain, hip pain, brain fog, digestive issues. And understanding that and understanding, hey, this is not aging. This is not something I was born with. I have control over that. So, we're— I believe people are slowly But, but surely shifting in the direction that they understand that diet and supplementation and sleep and other lifestyle practices are not just for vanity and feeling a little bit better, but you can truly— I don't want to say reverse conditions because that may be a stretch, but definitely make symptoms to certain conditions better and potentially reverse certain Conditions there, right?

Right. Let's say this. If you're pre-diabetic, doesn't mean you have to become diabetic, right?

Not at all. No.

Yeah. And there's a lot of people out there who are pre-diabetic. Some of them, like, they know it. Others that it's just like they're walking around but don't realize that's the case. And it starts really young. Do you do blood? So, so tell us about the blood testing and tell us where— let our listeners and viewers know What's the demographic that is the most leaning into this, open to this? Like, where's the book of business, if you will, for this at the moment?

Most guys that we work with are 40-plus, 40 to 55, 60. That's like the ballpark range. And we have younger guys and we've got guys up to 67 who are crushing it. I found like usually 50 plus have more urgency to do this and higher level of commitment. Even though their speed of success may be a little bit slower than someone at 30, it's still faster because of the level of urgency and commitment they have to make a change. They have less time. They have more miles on their body. I believe in terms of openness of advanced testing, you'll be not always, but sometimes people under 40, just because the generation 50, 60 plus to some level, they still have a big trust in authority. And like my doctor said, I'm fine. This means I'm fine. Well, he just checked my sugar and my lipids and everything is Okay, or normal, but normal doesn't mean optimal. So, that has just been ingrained for so long that, well, he would tell me if something would be wrong. He would tell me if this would be the case. And, we fail sometimes to understand that those people are here to prevent you from dying or getting really sick, but not here to help you become optimal or catch things 5, 10 years before they pop up.

Yeah, it really is. We're in a fascinating time. My— so my wife is— she had thyroid cancer about 25 years ago. She had her parathyroid removed. She's been on some thyroid replacement medication ever since. And so she's a bit of a science experiment, like a chemistry experiment in terms of hormones and things for a long time now. Or recently, she started consulting. Not only she's had many doctors along the way, and they've been amazing people, have helped her a great deal. But she's also started to read more herself and even ask using AI tools and others to examine certain things. Like when she gets her blood tests and her results, she's not just listened simply to what. her doctor would say, but she's also looked beyond that and asked for more information so she could have a greater understanding herself of what those things mean. I think fundamentally that information has been very empowering for her. She could speak to that much better than me, but I know for myself that even just having gone to get a physical recently and, and coming in to ask my doctor specifically to be checking certain things And to ask whether or not the blood work that she was ordering for me would include those tests. That— just that conversation alone. And most of what I was asking about was part of what she was going to test for, but not all of it. And we had an engaging conversation about some of these things. And that was the first time that I felt like— not I was on level playing field. I mean, she's a doctor, I am not. But we were having a conversation about my health in a different way. And I think that there's no downside to that to start with. And the understanding that you can learn more, even if you're not a doctor and you don't have that kind of training, but it's so easy now to receive insight that can help you to understand whether or not you should be eating what you're eating, whether that's either exacerbating certain problems or challenges you're having in your health, Or would alleviate those things, it'd be better to be engaged in that process as opposed to simply going, I've always done it this way, or my doctor says I'm normal, or I'm within a range, and feeling like that's okay. To me, to just go back to the very beginning of our conversation, that feels like splitting the difference. That feels like diluting the possibility of the health that you can have. And ultimately, to me, health is is only good or important insofar as it provides energy for things in your life that you want to do or the value that we're all here to contribute. If your energy is low or it's bad or, you know, like you don't have the capacity any longer or you're not optimizing what you're capable of producing from a thinking standpoint, from a— Yeah. acting standpoint, from a feeling standpoint, well, then the rest of the world, your family, your business, the people you work with, other people you'll never meet, but everybody's sort of like at a loss because you were willing to settle on something less than what's possible. And I think the times have changed where that doesn't have to be the case anymore.

I love how you tied it back to the book, and I absolutely agree with you. There's absolutely no downside of Having that conversation and playing with open cards, an open book, and testing it and doing one-two tests more, even if it's just one-two tests, there's no downside at all to it. The more information you have, the right type of information, the more you can make informed and proper decisions.

So if you're going to recommend tests to people that are going, okay, so let's get a little granular here on And, not everybody's the same, we get that. But, if you're going to say, hey, listen, there are some basic tests that everybody should be having and then therefore being able to follow up and understand better, what are those tests?

We have a panel of 97 markers, so it'll be a lot to list those out. What I'd rather do is share some tests that usually are missed by most doctors in most clinics that very few people look at. One of them would be homocysteine. Homocysteine is an amino acid. And, a lot of people talk about the MTHFR mutation and genetic mutations of B vitamins and methylfolate, but homocysteine is really the proxy. So, it gives you the outcome on where that is because just because your genes may be not optimal does not mean that genetic mutation or factor is activated Or present right now based on your lifestyle, where homocysteine will reflect that. So, it's an amino acid, it's a byproduct of methylation of the folate cycle. And, if that's elevated, then your risk for dementia, Alzheimer's, stroke, and high blood pressure is up. Very, very rare looked at. A lot of people when it comes to cardiovascular health, they just look at cholesterol LDL and it's demonized and that's it. And they totally miss so many other markers, and that is one of them. And with high blood pressure, yes, you would see it if you test your blood pressure, but the dementia, Alzheimer's, stroke risk—like those are—that's like a death by a thousand cuts. You don't really feel it until it's too late, and you can have all the money in the world and all the success you have or you want. But at the end of the day, we saw it with. The last president in the U.S., if you have a cognitive decline, usually the last person to know it. Everyone else will notice it. Everyone else starts to notice that first before you do, and usually when you do notice it, it's too late. It's very hard then to reverse. So you—it's better to prevent that. And I'm not saying that's the only thing there, and if you just focus on that, then it's going to be fine. But it can be an independent risk factor. There. And, you don't fix that just with diet or exercise. You can walk, you can work out, you can eat less, you can sleep better, but that one, they will require certain B vitamins and TMG betaine in higher doses. So, you can get it from food, but usually, not in all cases, but in many cases, there's supplementation required with it.

I really hope you're enjoying this episode. of the Change Proof podcast. If you've not yet gone out and gotten your own copy of Change Proof, it's not too late. You can get your copy right now by going to changeproof.com and not only getting the book and all the bonuses there, but getting access to our proprietary resilience assessment tool. It'll just take you 3 minutes to do, and it's something that will really help you to utilize the book even more effectively to create practices and rituals and habits that will increase your mental, emotional, physical, and even spiritual resilience for the long term. Again, go to changeproof.com to get your copy today. It's such a great example because, I mean, personally, I'd say if there's anything that you want to make sure you maintain, I think we're going to live longer. I think that's what science is giving us the option is There's a lot of discrimination there too, not based on gender or race or things like that. It's financial discrimination, in my opinion. If you have money, there are ways to live longer because you simply are financially able and others are not. That sucks, of course. That is a different conversation. But if your brain health isn't there, what's the point? In fact, not what's the point, it would be— Yeah. absolutely the opposite of what you would choose if you actually consciously could choose. Bruce Willis is a great example, very famous and successful and wealthy actor that is in a cognitive decline for many years now. And it's just sad as you could imagine. And Ronald Reagan in his latter years, I think, had Alzheimer's. And so this is not anything new and something we would love to do something about for sure. And so if somebody's singing listening to this, watching, and thinking, okay, so how am I— how is my brain health actually? How am I doing? And I'd sort of like to get ahead of it if somehow or another there was a way to do that. So, just walk us through potentially if somebody is thinking, I want to find out how I am doing, this homocysteine, that particular test can be added to a panel. Yeah. when you get blood work at a yearly physical, or is there something else? I just want to give people a more direct call to action here if they actually want to go ahead and take action on what you just said.

Yeah. So, there are online clinics, telemedicine clinics that you can order that separately. I think even via LabCorp, they have the option, or you can ask your doctor to order it. We've just found many times that most primary care physicians, They will not want to order all the tests for whatever reason, which I truly don't understand because it's if you're going to pay out of pocket, there should be absolutely no negotiation there. Tying it back to the book, but there should be no negotiation. It's like I'm going to pay for it. I'm not asking the insurance. I'm going to pay out of pocket. Why wouldn't you order it? Right? But if you want, and if it helps all your listeners, we could put the panel that I have. In the description. I don't make any money out of that panel. It's a clinic in California. They created that panel for me and at a price that no other clinic was able to create it. And we have clients or people who just one-off consult order that panel there. So that doesn't come with any cons or anything, but at least you get the 97 markers there. But yeah, homocysteine is one I would throw in. Also lipoprotein I touched on cholesterol before. Cholesterol is fatty. So, if you think about it, if you have here some water in this glass jar, if you put olive oil or some fat with it, they don't really mix together. And fat doesn't really swim through blood. It has to be packaged in a lipoprotein. That's like a tennis ball that's then swimming through your bloodstream. And those lipoproteins, there are different ones you can test. So, ApoB is one that mainly carries LDL cholesterol but also VLDL. It's usually lifestyle-related risk. Some cardiologists and clinics, if not most, will say that is a greater predictor of cardiovascular risk and usually gets tested more and more. But one that's overlooked is lipoprotein. That is a genetic risk factor of cardiovascular risk, and if that's elevated, especially if it's very high, so in the triple digits over 100, then and some cardiologists will say that your risk for a heart attack can double. Of course, your lifestyle is still the biggest factor, but that is an independent one. Again, walking, lifting, eating better will not get that number down. They're working right now on a medication. I think it's going to come out this or next year that. Could potentially lower that there, but that will be an independent risk factor. And if you know that early on in your life, one, you'll be much more locked in or dialed in with your lifestyle, which is a good thing. But number two, you can be preventative in terms of testing. So calcium scan, CT angiogram, Boston Heart Health, a meeting with a cardiologist early on. To see, okay, did that independent risk factor build up some plaque in my arteries and has it been impacting something? Or actually, no, I'm living such a good lifestyle, it did not have an impact. And, if you don't know it, then it can be very, very rough because usually when someone has a heart attack and they have an okay lifestyle, I don't want to say great but also not horrible, under 50 and they go to the hospital and they test that, usually it's very high, that number. So it just puts you at a greater risk. Again, doesn't mean if that is high it's going to happen, but it's more likely to happen. Knowing that can just— that alone, I've seen when clients get the results, sometimes they freak out. But it also— you see their diet gets way better just by that. No extra coaching or nothing changed, just the awareness of that marker, which has been truly fascinating. So, some people say like, oh, I'd rather not know it. No, actually, it's helpful when you know it and you're aware of that. You take back much more control of your health, even though it's a marker you can't really control, right? But I would say that one there is important. And if it's high and you have kids, it would be smart to test them as well and your parents as well if they're still alive. But usually for the kids, because then you would know, okay, we need to educate them better on their health and make sure they live a healthier lifestyle to minimize that risk, right? There's many more, but I would say those are like very, 2 very, very critical markers that are very rarely tested and everyone would benefit from looking at those. That doesn't mean there are other markers that are not as valuable or more valuable. But, if we look at the very uncommon on-the-ground one, so to say, if we want to label it that way, I would say those two are very, very often overlooked.

Yeah. That's so important. And, I'm very grateful to you as well that you're going to provide us with that information that we can put into the shownotes for people to have that conversation with their doctor or as you said, Just order those panels themselves. It's a pay-out-of-pocket kind of thing. They're not a fortune of money. It's done with a naturopathic doctor. She's actually a medical doctor as well. And we ordered panels that, that from my primary care physician weren't going to be ordered, et cetera. And, you know, it was a few hundred dollars for sure out of pocket, but worth it.

And sorry to interrupt you. I just want to add something to your I think it was the second question where you said, do you think people are not— they don't know what to do or how to take care of their health? I would say one of the things that people are missing is also the why. Like, if I tell you eat more chicken or eat more broccoli or eat more salmon, yeah, it's healthy, but they don't understand the why. But once you know the why to your situation, it can be very, very powerful, just as with those 2 markers. For example, In my case, I was never a big, big fan of broccoli. I would have it sometimes, but I did some genetic testing and the blood panel we have, and based on my symptoms— so, I have not always, but depending on the geographical location and the environment, my asthma got worse or better or nonexistent. And different places where I lived or I stayed at, where I had stronger symptoms. And I noticed that on the days that I had broccoli, it got better. And I thought like, hmm, that's interesting. Especially broccoli sprouts, like broccolini, the small ones, small and long. And once I did the DNA test in labs, it was very clear that I have a much, much greater need for glutathione and other compounds which are found in broccoli. And of course, in other foods. From that moment on, I can't explain it to you, but it started to taste better, and I started to feel like I'm fueling my body. This is what my body needs. I had a greater level of commitment to add that to my diet, even though I prefer other veggies and other fruits, and it was definitely not the first choice. Now it's one of the top three to five choices in my diet that I have every week multiple times because I know. I feel better. I have less mucus in my lungs. I can breathe better and it calms any cough. So, it's just been fascinating. And, I think if people know like, hey, this here is really helpful for me, if you have a condition like that, it's going to get people much more buy-in. Yeah.

I'm so glad you created the parenthetical statement there to earlier question because The why is— I mean, if you don't know why you should be having something other than someone's telling you, quote, should have that, or it's good for you, it's healthy, right? It was like when we were kids and if somebody, you know, if one of my parents or relatives had said, well, you should eat that because it's good for you, whether it was like liver or broccoli, to use your example, it wasn't enough of a reason to get me to do it. In fact, I might even not do it because they told it— they told me to do it. So it's rebellious and all that. So to understand the connection between the food that we're consuming and how we feel and how we think and how we can therefore act, behave, experience life, that's a fundamental connection that gives us power to choose. And I think when we choose, when we are given the choice, we will always choose to feel better than to feel worse. I do not think that is even a debatable thing. I think everybody is that way. But if you do not understand the connection, then you understand— if you do not understand why, as you said, why would you do it other than just you are putting faith in someone else or you are willing to, I do not know, do it just blindly hoping or whatever it might be. That's not a good enough reason, especially when sometimes to get foods like that, broccoli being one example, but of course, that's just the example, maybe it would be more inconvenient. It could be more expensive. It could be that you can't eat or just indiscriminately eat without putting some pre-thought into it or planning into it. Does that make sense?

Absolutely. Yes, 100% does.

Yeah. So you do some coaching. I think your organization helps people with this because these sort of decisions and the thinking that precedes the decisions are habitual. And as I think I may have said either while we were recording or before it, I think habitually people are just not— their habits when it comes to this are not great. And that's why not initially, maybe not when they're 10 years old or 20 years old even, but down the road, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, whenever it is, the results of those poor habits show up. And that's unfortunate. And it's something that could be changed if we just understood it better earlier on. So how do you— how does your organization help people through coaching or what's your process other than— I know you'll help to get those tests ordered and then you'll also interpret those. Yeah. tests and give people information about them. Is that how that kind of works?

Yes, that's a start. And, you bring up a good point because we've had such a great conversation so far on the blood work or testing and the data. But, as you kind of touched on, that alone is not sufficient to create long-term behavior change and a shift in identity. Potentially for some people if they're in a very, very bad spot, but for most people, they will have that They may take action initially, but then get off track, right? So the way we do it is we get two pieces of information: the blood work is one, but also an assessment of someone's lifestyle. Not it. Like if you think about a surgeon, he doesn't do surgery without an X-ray, without first knowing what's broken and what's what needs to be fixed. And those two pieces of information. Our necessity for us to create a customized plan. And then we put that together, lay it all out for people, and coach and walk them through it, setting up habits, routines. Of course, there is a plan, right, with what to eat, when to eat, how much to eat, workout, sleep, lifestyle. That is all great. But we focus also on the shift in perception, the shift in identity, because that's the biggest driver of behavior, but equally focusing on the habits, on routines and behaviors, and what needs to be in place in that regard to make a long-term shift. I've always found the biggest value for myself when I hire a coach, but also for people when they hire us, is not the plan. I don't want to downplay the plan in any means, and also not Accountability. I don't want to downplay that either, but it's what do I do here? I found from start to finish, whether it's from someone that needs to make a big change with their health to get them their outcome here, or whether it's in business, leadership, organizations, whatever you want to call it or take, there are about 100, 200, 300, maybe 1,000 decisions that need to happen. Some are more important, others are less important. Knowing what door to open and what door to not open and leave closed—that's going to be the greatest value because I can give you, Adam, a plan with all instructions, and within the first week, you crush it. You're happy, but you're going to get to a point where you hit a wall or you have some symptoms, and the question is: What should I do next? Should I reduce my training? Should I increase intensity? Should I add an extra set? Should I walk more? Should I walk less? Should I eat more? Should I eat less? Should I up my carb? Like there's so many variables and decisions. Should I take a higher dose of this supplement? Should I get a different supplement? Is it the brand? Is it the dose? Like why is it working? Why is it not working? There's so many things, and I found that is the biggest value where you have someone that has the experience and says. Do this, do that, stay away from this, do this, like telling you what door to open and also explaining to you why we should open that door, not the other one. I've always found that to be the greatest value. Like one of the coaches or mentors that I've worked with over the past 12 months, I don't know if you know him, Todd Herman. He's worked with Kobe Bryant, Nadal, Ronaldo. Like he's coached them on their mental performance. And one of the things that he said early on is you shouldn't be doing this. So it's not just what you should be doing, it's what you shouldn't be doing. So he closed many doors for me, like, don't focus on this, don't do that, don't do this, focus on this. And by closing those doors, you have more energy, more focus, more attention, more resources on the things that matter, right? And That is the biggest value there, that decision-making process and skill.

I couldn't agree more. I'm very much interested in athletics and more now than probably in the last 20 years for reasons I want to get into. But it is fascinating because in sports, it's easy to see the connection between how a person has approached their practice and what they ultimately able to do in the field of play. And that time that's committed to understanding how to perform better and the coaching that's an essential element of that has a clear ROI and you see it. And so it wouldn't be odd for— to see a swing coach, somebody that's helping golfer, for example, with the mental side of the game or even the physical mechanics of their swing, to walk the course with one of their clients, literally while they're playing a round of golf, to be there to watch them, observe them, and ultimately to provide some insights, nor to see a coach in the player's box at the French Open or at any other major tennis tournament watching their player, ready to provide guidance or taking notes to be able to debrief with that player afterward. So why should it be any different for us? It's really just about how you view yourself, I think, and also sort of the economics of it. I think there's 2 pieces of it because sometimes I'll say to an audience, I have the great privilege to be able to keynote on the topic of resiliency and we can cover— it's very malleable. So there's a lot of things we can cover there, including mental health and stress management, other things that contribute to performance. In the business space. And I'll sometimes say to an audience, what if you were running an Olympic event today or you had a race tomorrow in the Olympics? What would you be doing? What would you be thinking about today? What decisions would you be making? Would you be drinking? Would you be out having more brown liquor at 10 o'clock at night and not giving a lick about your sleep or about your hydration? And obviously, we all know the answer is that we would think about it quite differently. So I think for folks, one of those first mindset shifts is to be thinking about yourself differently and the importance that you have to not just in your own life, but in all the lives that you're actually impacting, whether it's your family directly or it's the other people that you work alongside and what that ripple effect is. So that's very important. And I think when you heighten the level of focus and importance on that, almost like it was an Olympic event, You treat it differently. And the second thing is you wouldn't pass up the opportunity to be coached or given guidance or provided insight from someone who is an expert if you could afford it. And I think that's, again, these 2 things that you're worth it, A, and B, that you're willing to invest in the resources to support you in being at your best. And that's a decision that you have to make. And one that also has economic consequences. So if you don't have the money for it, I get it. We all would get that. And yet I think people find the money for the things they want. God knows what a latte costs today. You could spend $7, $8 on something and it's gone in a second. And you could spend $200 on a meal and it might not even be a great meal or on drinks or whatever. And those are choices you make with your money. So this is just a choice. Yeah. But with that, Maura, I just want to say thank you so much for the conversation today. We just really scratched the surface. I want to say that out loud. So perhaps we schedule a part 2 of this and we pick another topic that we can dive into. What's great— and I'm going to add, just going to ask you one final question, but I want our audience to know that the show notes are going to contain a lot of information that you've referenced today, including how it is that people can get in touch with you and be able to— Think about if they were going to put themselves in that category of, I'm really important, maybe a little more important than they're comfortable at actually feeling or owning, and they're willing to also think about getting an expert to look at them and provide insight, coach them even. There'll be information about how to do that with your group. So Mauro, it's sort of an open-ended statement at the end that I'd like— I just want you to Share, if you could, with our folks something about your philosophy that, you know, if you were going to have this moment to, you know, sort of wake somebody up for a second about why this is so important. You didn't say why, and I didn't ask you why this was so important in your life, why you decided to go into this field. But maybe it's, it's something like that so we can understand why this was such an inspiration to you. And maybe that will, will move somebody to actually— Yeah. Well, there

are multiple whys for me. It's always contextual. I was working in banking and, you know, kind of worked my ass off and chased wealth at the expense of my own health. If we stay on maybe a little bit deeper in the why of today's topic, you know, with the blood markers that we brought up or cognitive decline, my grandmother, she had type 2 diabetes, And Alzheimer's, so perfect case and off today's conversation. And sometimes, not just sometimes, but many times, I wish that I had the knowledge that I have today ten years ago or more. Maybe not ten, but more like fifteen, twenty years ago. She died in well, ten years this summer. So in August 2015, she passed away, and I wish I had it like. Maybe in 2010, if not earlier, that's where there was a rapid decline because I know with the right tests and just the right action steps, I'm not saying I could have reversed it because ultimately it's her will and her commitment that would have played a role. But I believe I could have made a difference there. And it's like good to put it out there for everyone that you should not, especially if you have kids, like don't let them wish or hope that you had done something differently, but be the change you want to be in yourself that you want to see in them, right?

Yeah. Mauro, thank you so much for going there and sharing that. And I have some people in my life too that I wish were still here, that I can think in the same way that you just said, that perhaps something that was avoidable or delayable or something. And I think back to Casey Means, Dr. Casey Means, who wrote that book, Good Energy. You know, her— the beginning of the book, she talks about her mom and how she loses her mom at too young an age. I think her mom may have been 69 or something. And she is— she's a Stanford medical student. She's the top of her class. She becomes a doctor and all that. And she realizes pretty quickly on, in part because of her mother's illness and decline, that the traditional approach to medicine and to health, and it wasn't going to do it for her. So it's a very relevant thing right now, not just because she's a best-selling author and personality out there, but she's also being considered as the— to be the Surgeon General for the United States. So it's kind of a big deal at this moment as well. I probably can tell from my statement here that I'm in favor of that based on her book. I think she's, she's got the right approach, or at least the right mindset around this. So Mauro, thank you so much again. And I am so looking forward to seeing where your work in the world takes you. And for all of our listeners, I hope they will contact and connect with you. And in either case, that this conversation just perhaps has opened up a window for people to just explore more. There's lots of ways to learn more today. That is one of the great things about the technology shift that has occurred. It's just pretty possible to learn a great deal. Yeah. Without going to medical school, I suppose, at least enough to keep the conversation alive and meaningful. So, Mauro, thanks again and be well.

Thank you so much for having me on, Adam.

I was just captivated and fascinated. I hope you guys were as well. Different conversation, different kind of conversation than we typically have on this show. I was very happy to have Mauro as a guest and to talk about something At a metabolic level, at a granular, you know, at a, a cellular level such as our metabolic health and the kind of blood work that is important in terms of our gaining an understanding and knowledge and awareness of what's going on inside, what's going on under the surface that we can't see but that we likely can feel and definitely will be impacted by sooner or later. The book by Casey Means, Good Energy, was really impactful for me in the last 6 months. My son-in-law gave it to me and I read it and couldn't put it down. And I think it's really important that we just have a better understanding of ourselves so that we can be there for more of the things that we love, people we love, and the work that we love. And if we don't, we're not at our best. Again, it would be like if we were signing up to be an Olympic athlete somehow, where you go, oh, I could be in the Olympics. Would you just be okay with how you performed and not prepare, not practice, not get coached, not— Yeah. Really be focused on how you could optimize for that experience and for that opportunity? The answer is, of course, no. That wouldn't be the way you'd approach it. You'd be so intentional about it, right down to the water you drank and how you hydrated your body and what you ate and how you slept and all these other things. So, of course, it's such a big topic, we can't dive into all of it at once, but we did cover something that I think was fundamentally important and there'll be information in the— show notes to follow up that listening experience for you with some action if you wanted to take it. And as Mauro said, you know, he's, he's provided that information. There's no financial gain to him to do that unless, of course, you were to want to engage with his organization to get coaching or whatever it is that they offer. And there's certainly no, no financial incentive for me to say that. I just, again, feel like we need To speak more openly about what we don't understand when it comes to our health and how we can support one another in gaining not just a greater understanding, but a greater acceptance of the level of importance that it has, that it plays in our lives, of course, but in the lives of so many other people that our lives impact. It is just— it was a debate I had with my father-in-law, who I miss, regularly, and I wish was still around. As Mauro was sharing about his grandmother, I miss that. I miss my father-in-law as much. And our debate was always around whether being selfish, like taking care of yourself, was selfish, and whether focusing on yourself in an intentional way was actually somehow putting other people second. And that was the debate. And my strong feelings to this day remain that Being focused on your well-being is unselfish. It's what actually helps you to be there for other people and will create the longevity that is also something that the people in your life that love you or that are learning from you or whatever it might be that they are craving. And so to deny them that because you're unwilling to put yourself first for whatever those reasons are, including old programming or just whatever, laziness, a lack of urgency or funds even economically speaking, whatever the excuse may be, that that is truly selfish. And so I will not lecture. I will just say I did have those conversations with my father-in-law and I failed in my attempts to move him in that way. But we did enjoy a lot of time together and every moment of that I cherish. With that, again, I hope this episode was impactful. I hope it was interesting, and I hope you share it with other people that may just need to hear some of what it was that Mauro said. And so please share— friend, family member, colleague— do that. If you've got comments, if you've got thoughts that you want to share with me, adammarkel.com/podcast. You can leave a comment there, of course, question there. And we just appreciate you, appreciate you being part of the community and that you're supporting what we're up to because none of this works without you. So thank you again for all of that. And I'll just say ciao for now and be well.

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