NAD and Sermorelin for Mental Clarity, Recovery, and Anti-Aging | #192

I probably had anxiety my whole life. I just, nobody knew what it was until my 20s when I was diagnosed with it. You know, the thing with anxiety is that, and I told you this, I think it's a superpower. I don't let the anxiety control me. I control the anxiety. I know some people drink coffee in the morning. I go to the gym. It's that time where you can breathe, that I'm just Mara. I'm not a businesswoman. I'm not, you know, I'm not a mom. I'm not a wife. Might sound selfish, but it helps center me. Throughout my entire day. I want to feel good. I want to stay younger and healthy and be there for my kids and my grandkids. And it's funny because why wouldn't you want to?

I always say, do you prefer to decline?

Yeah, I agree. I don't want to. I want to incline. I want to keep inclining. I don't want to decline.

Hello, welcome back to the Dr. Joy Kong podcast. And you know, my mission here is to make you live a longer, healthier, and happier life. So today I have the pleasure of bringing in a wonderful guest, Mara Dorn, who, let me introduce her first, but hi Mara, thank you so much for being here.

Hi. Thank you for having me.

Yeah, so let me tell the audience about you a little bit. So Mara is a self-made millionaire, bestselling author, public speaker, and award-winning BILF, which stands for Boss I Like to Follow. So her podcast, and she emerged from adversity to transform the health insurance industry. She holds the distinction of being the second person to eclipse $1 billion in sales before the age of 40. And she leads and mentors a team of over 50 people 1,500 agents nationwide. Mara is a staunch advocate of servant leadership, a philosophy that emphasizes the growth and well-being of individuals and communities. Mara is dedicated to connecting like-minded entrepreneurs by fostering a culture of support, collaboration, and shared success. Her savvy business acumen and unwavering commitment to her values have established her organization as a beacon of innovation and female empowerment in a traditionally male-dominant industry. That's amazing. Thank you for being who you are, Mara. Wow.

Thank you for that introduction. That's a lot cooler than what I think.

But I can't wait to learn from you because, you know, I'm a fellow entrepreneur. I know I turned entrepreneur from a physician, but I love entrepreneurship. I think it just, it makes the world very exciting because entrepreneurs are making things happen on a scale. So, that's probably the best way to affect change in the world because when you change things from the economically feasible standpoint, then you can really make things multiply. So, um, yeah, tell us, so there's— you have experienced adversity and then you came to, you know, to this, um, incredible success. So what have you gone through that had shaped who you are?

Um, wow, what haven't I gone through? So I, you know, the family I come from The only acceptable career growing up was either a lawyer or a doctor. That was pretty much it. I didn't know that people had a choice to go to college. I just thought everybody did that. So I followed, you know, the rules of the household was to go to college and then after that you go to law school. But unfortunately that didn't really happen for me. The economy happened in 2007, 2008, and at that time I was newly married. I had a brand new baby at home. And my ex-husband lost 6 of our businesses in 6 months.

What?

So there was no, yes, gone, bye. They're just gone. Everything went, the house, the cars, the Rolexes, everything, bye. It was all gone. So there was no money for me to go to law school. And I found myself in a really strange predicament because at that point we were drowning in debt. We were begging and borrowing from everybody that we knew, and we had to think fast. So one of the immediate needs was to lower the household bills. And one of the highest bills we had were our health insurance premiums. So I went online looking to, you know, somehow lower our health insurance premiums. A girl sells me health insurance. Long story short, her boss calls me. I'm thinking it's like a quality assurance call. The guy offers me a job. Well, he offers me to come in for a job interview. Reluctantly, I go to this job interview that looked like a scam. It look like a multi-level marketing scam with like an interview with 250 people. And I end up bolting out of the room. I'm like, this is crazy. I've never seen anything like this. Guy finds me at the end of the hallway. He's like, listen, there's this concept called residual income. Have you ever heard of it? I had no idea 'cause I didn't know anything about sales. So I was like, I have no idea what that is. He's like, what if I told you that there's a way that your money could work for you you wouldn't have to work for your money always. I was like, oh, sign me up. Like, that's— sign me up now. And, um, that was almost 19 years ago. I started in a field that was predominantly older white male. So I was the youngest. I would say I was the youngest and hottest. No, I was the youngest female to start in this company. And, um, I started going door to door. That's how I started, door to door, business to business selling health insurance.

Mm-hmm.

Eventually, I mean, I wish I could tell you that my journey was, you know, all rainbows and sunshine, but it wasn't. I fell miserably. I didn't make money for almost 6 months. Um, yeah, it was ins— it was crazy. And, um, and eventually things turned around and I became, years later, but I became the second person in the company to eclipse over a billion dollars in sales. Through adversity and trial and error and learning how to build. And, you know, I think if—

but how did you turn from not making money for 6 months to just things started happening? Like, what was the turning point?

So I think everybody has this moment of clarity in their life, or salespeople do. It's like this aha moment where you're like, okay, I'm either gonna go big or I'm gonna go home. So I have this moment where I drive 45 minutes to this house And this is like, I had already told myself, I'm either gonna, I'm, I'm either gonna do this or I'm not. So I drive 45 minutes to this house and, um, I walk up, I remember like I walk up and the guy opens the door and the guy's uninsurable. Like he's clearly uninsurable at, because the type of insurance we sell is you have to qualify. So I'm like, all right, maybe the wife, the wife worse. She's like 10 times more uninsurable. So I walk away with no check and no ego at this point. I'm like, it's done. So I get in the car and I call my mentor and I'm like, I'm done. I'm not doing this. Everything, the leads suck, you suck. Like it's everybody. It's not me. It's not, it's definitely not me. It's everybody else. And we walk through the sale from start to finish and she's like, Mara, before you went out there, did you, um, realize that that was 45 minutes from your house? I said no. She said, Mara, did you do all the pre-qualifying questions? I said, no, I didn't. She said, Mara, you know we have a product for people that are uninsurable. No, I said, no, I didn't know. And I hung up the phone and I had this moment where I remember like looking in the rearview mirror and I'm like, it's not everybody else, it's me. And that was just kind of when everything changed and I went from making nothing. I actually made my first six figures that year. Oh, I made $92,000. So the first half of the year I made nothing, and then the second half I made $92,000.

So you decided to pay more attention, you decided to do your homework before you—

I didn't have a choice. I think at that point, like, I just didn't have a choice. And I was like, it's not everybody else. If, you know, I'm like watching these guys, these like schlub guys that were— that had no education, they I— they're making money. I'm watching them come in with these big checks. I'm like, if these guys can do this, wait, I can do this, you know? And, um, and finally, like, I think it was just going all in and self-belief at that point. And I really— and my back was up against the wall because we were so broke at that time that I was like, I have— like, something has got to change. It's not everybody else. It's not. It's me. And the minute I had that introspective moment of clarity that it wasn't everybody else, that's when everything shifted.

Wow. And, um, was that, uh, how long ago was that?

Oof, that was, that was my first year in sales, so that was like almost 18 years ago. And then it just, then it went from, it evolved from there, and then I learned how to build teams. So I mean, of course there's like more in between that happened. Um, you know, I had a very public divorce. It was, there was a lot. I had kids in between. There was a lot of things going on. But somehow, you know, having these kids, I knew one thing growing up is that you have to take care of your kids no matter what. So I was forced again with my back up against the wall at this point. At this point, I'm— it's what, I, I was 25 when I started. 5 years later, I have 2 kids, I'm getting divorced. I'm like, this is insane. Like, what's going on here? And I had to make it work cuz making $92,000 a year was not gonna work. Mm-hmm. So, you know, I, I pounded the pavement even harder and I learned how to recruit and then I learned that I could build teams.

Mm-hmm.

And I learned that I can, you know, I can oversee people and people liked me so I could take the skill and duplicate myself. And then the evolution of the team became, and I wish I could take all the credit, but it's not true. I had a lot of great leaders that helped me develop and bring in all types of people into the, into this game from, you know, really diversifying the type of agents that we had. From having predominantly male agents, we started to hire people that look more like us so we could diversify. We started hiring Black people, Asian people, um, gay people, Indian people. Like, it just didn't matter. It just— we started hiring such a diverse group of people. And what does that do? It opens up your market because now you're not just stuck selling to one type of person, but your entire market opens up. And then you are able to bring in not only more sales, but now you can bring in more salespeople that, you know, that were able to identify with their own communities. So it just kind of turned into a whole big thing. You know, one funny story is I ended up getting kicked out of LA Fitness. I recruited all their people, all of their salespeople. I got kicked out, I got blacklisted. I think I'm still blacklisted to this day.

Oh my God.

And I can't go back to LA Fitness. But we were hiring, you know, because the game changed so much in sales. But really the moral of the story was, was that, you know, where there's a will, there's a way. And there was a lot of adversity, but I don't think I ever saw it as adversity. I just saw it as this is part of the struggle. You know, I never really, I never really looked at it that I was a female in a male-dominated industry. I was a person with other peers that I didn't look like. That's really how That's how it looked to me. And then, and you know, through it all, my kids are watching, so they were a huge driving factor that I had to be successful. There was no choice in it. And, um, and eventually we grew this big empire. I met my husband, my husband today. We grew this huge empire and today we have 11 businesses throughout the US. And, um, yeah. And we do it while, you know, juggling 3 kids and trying to maintain our sanity.

Wow, that's amazing. I would love to learn from you about team building because, because that's, that can be very tricky, right? So, yes, I have my own team. And how do you deal with all these, you know, not only personalities, but also there are some people who are hardworking and some people who are not, right? Who would like to just skip by. Yeah, they spend their working hours, you know, talking to their family or friends or whatever they're dealing with, their kid, and they may not put in all their efforts even though they're paid to be there and get the work done. And then there could be gossiping, right? People chatting and pitting one against each other, maybe not intentionally, but for whatever reason that they, the gossip. How do you deal with all that? How do you make sure everyone can face the same direction, go move forward together?

Well, I don't think everybody can face the direct same direction. That's the, that's knowing this going into it. You know, a 10 is always gonna be a 10 and a 1 is gonna be a 1, and you just kind of categorize them at the level that they're at. And usually what happens is the 1 ends up we— and in sales it's different because if they're not making money, then they don't stay. So they end up weeding themselves out. You know, it's a completely different game than W-2 or somebody that's being paid hourly. They have to make money. So we give them all the tools and it is frustrating, especially, you know, you were talking about an entrepreneurship, being an entrepreneur. It's really upsetting to me that there's not more women entrepreneurs and same thing in my business to not see women in our business is really upsetting. But, you know, you hear the excuses constantly. Oh, I have my period. I can't come in. Oh, I have to take care of my kid. All this, like this. At some point, it's just noise to me. Either you want it or you don't. And I never get— I, I, I don't put my expectations on anybody else because I'll be sadly disappointed. So I already know what I'm walking into, and I already know that I'm working— walking into a diverse group of people with many different personalities. So we try to provide them with all the tools possible. We're going to give you all the training, you know, we're going to give you 80%, you meet us 20%. And if they can't do it, they can't do it. I don't even get upset anymore. It is what it is at that point, and we can be friends, but professionally we're probably not going to work together. And that's kind of how I categorize it. And as far as the gossiping goes, you know what, if people aren't talking shit about you, then you're not doing something right. And if they're— and if they're talking about you, it's because of their own insecurities. There's no way that you're going to make it to the top or you're going to make it anywhere if you care what people think about you. I, I mean As long as you're leading with intent and you're leading with a servitude type of leadership style, then you know that everything you're doing is to ensure, like, we believe that agent is king. So my, my real, what I really want to do is positively impact every single person that I meet. So I know that my intent is always pure. It's 100%. But if you know, there, there's a lot of chaos going on in every organization. I don't care if you're in sales, if you're in corporate America, there's There's so many things going on that someone has to be the leader of the pack. You know, you can't feed into it. That's number one. And number two, it's being able to assimilate to all the personalities that you're dealing with, which is hard. That's— it's really, really hard to not get involved and not turn around. You know, sometimes I want to go tell people to go fuck themselves. I'd love to say that. But, you know, if you— if the leader becomes unglued, what happens to the organization? So I always try to take a deep breath. And the other thing I try to do is I try to remind myself that we're all human. Right? And you never know what's going on in somebody else's life. So I try to keep all of that in mind on an even scale, balance it. And then, and then really, if I have any real problems, I, I just bitch and complain to my husband, and I get it out there. But I don't ever let anyone— I never show my cards. That's really what it comes down to. No one would— no one would ever know if I become unglued, unraveled. I don't cry in front of them. I don't get angry. I don't yell. I don't scream. I don't become unhinged. It's even keel all the way. Hmm.

What have you found challenging in sustaining a team that's cohesive?

The same thing that you said from the beginning is getting everybody to work. Nobody, nobody's gonna do it better than you.

Mm-hmm.

They're just not. It's never gonna happen. And once you realize that, it makes things a lot easier cuz no one is— I mean, there's a, there's a reason that you're at the top. It's cuz you are the one that knows how to do it. And it's very rare. I'm not saying it's impossible cuz I found a few that can do it and they're the anomaly, but more times than none, no one is gonna do it. Like you. No one. So you got to learn to delegate and work with what you have.

That's really—

it's such a terrible thing to say, but since COVID and I think this generation in itself, they've just become so lazy that the hunger and grind isn't there. It's just not there.

I'm glad you're saying it because I don't want to be pessimistic or judgmental, but that seems to have been the case. I mean, people are more entitled than ever.

Oh yeah.

Right? They feel like they don't have to put a lot of work, but then they deserve a lot.

Yeah, they do. And we just go with it, you know, like we, I kind of just go with the flow on it. And those that will, will, those that won't, won't. And sometimes, you know, you'll find that diamond in the rough that is just as hard worker as you, but you already know going into it that no one is gonna do as good as you. No one. They're just not gonna do it. It's not gonna happen. They'd be where you're at. So when you finally realize that, you know, you have this moment of clarity where you know that most people are not gonna give as much as you're gonna give. It's just not gonna happen.

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

I hate to say it, but it's true.

Yeah. And I love that you have, uh, 11 businesses. So I know Tony Robbins has over 100, but I think he just, he's peripherally involved, right? As he's not the, You know, involved personally.

Yeah.

His businesses, he has a part in it. But I'm wondering, all these businesses, are you actually intimately involved in all of them?

So I have 11 offices. That's all in the same business. I have some other things on the side, but I have 11 offices. Am I— I am actively involved. I am pretty actively involved from where I stand. I started as an agent, so I know what the grind is like. Um, I would say that I'm not as in the field as I was just because I have a lot— there's no way I can have— I can be in every office. But I would say that I pretty much know what goes on in every single office. Yeah, I do. Otherwise, if you're not as involved in my business, at least it just won't work. You have to be hands-on. You have to know what's going on. You have to know, you know, this business, it sounds crazy. Insurance is constantly evolving. Technology is evolving. So, you know, we bring, we have texting involved, we have AI now involved, which sounds crazy, but you know, if you're not keeping up with your business and not knowing what's going on with your business, it's probably not going to run the same caliber.

Hmm, okay. And, um, and you have, um, some like challenges as far as being an entrepreneur. Um, what about the challenge of maintaining your own balance? Like how, how, how has that been for you?

I don't think that work-life balance is a real thing. I think it's, I think it's a bullshit term that people use. There's no such thing as work-life balance. If you're trying to build something big, it's not gonna happen. There's a thing called work-life priority. That's a real thing. And you know, sometimes my family is gonna prioritize over my business, but sometimes my business is gonna prioritize over my family. With that being said, my kids are a non-negotiable. You know, that, that, you know, when it comes to them and their needs. Now, I'm not saying I've been to every dance thing and every basketball game. No, sometimes I can't make it, but I'll be there for the tournament. You know, I'll be there for the finale. So it's just prioritizing what's, what's important and what's pressing at the moment. So is it— has it been difficult? Yeah, I think it is difficult. But I also think anything in life worth having, you have to work hard for. So I don't, you know, I don't think that there is a thing as balance. I think it's whatever is pressing at the moment, that's what takes the forefront. And that's how you build something successful. For somebody that wants to work 9 to 5 and they want to be paid minimum wage, or, you know, they're okay with middle-class life, sure, you can have, you can have work-life balance. But I don't think that someone that's trying to build a legacy or someone that's an entrepreneur, they, they're kidding themselves if you think there's such a thing as work-life balance. There's just no way. Hmm.

I'm so glad you said that. Because I certainly don't feel like I'm balanced in that way. I'm obsessed with building. I mean, I spent my July 4th weekend architecting the future. I mean, it was very exciting, but I'm designing the future. So, yeah, that's when other people are barbecuing, I'm making sure I'm setting up this structure that's, you know, some kind of enduring legacy. Yeah, so it makes sense.

I mean, it makes sense to me. Uh, it like, there's been many Fourth of Julys where we're working instead of hanging out, or, you know, we have to put stuff to the side and prioritize what's, what's gonna be for our future and for our kids. So I, you know, when people want, they want this work-life balance and I don't know what planet they're living on, but here in the US you just don't do it like that. You work really, really hard. You know, and hopefully at the end you get to enjoy the fruits of your labor. But people that are entrepreneurs are constantly going, their minds are going, where that's, that's just the type of people we are. Even if, you know, I, I don't know if you ever feel like this, but I feel like it's never enough. Like somebody once asked me like, when is enough enough? And I'm like, there, like, that's not even something I've ever thought of. What do you mean? When, and I'm constantly thinking of new things, new innovative things, new, you know, in new innovations. Because if you're not building and you're not growing, then you're stagnant.

Right. And I think people like us are built that way because we thrive on that excitement, on that curiosity, right? What about this? You know, what if I do this and what can happen? So, um, yeah, I think, um, you know, I think everyone has different missions in life, you know, you have to find what your mission is.

So yeah, I agree with that. And I think that if you're okay and not to knock the 9 to 5, I don't, this is not, I don't want to get I think that's great for some people. That's just not something that is great for me. You know, that's— it just doesn't work. And you're right, everybody ticks different and everybody, they prioritize things that are different. But if you're really trying to build something in life, you really want to be a real entrepreneur, then I don't think that your work ever stops. You're constantly on.

Hello, my loyal listeners. I want to interrupt this podcast for just a second because I want to let you know that if you're looking to help solve a major health issue, Or you're looking for health optimization and just for longevity purposes, you can find us at Chara Health. We are considered the leader in the regenerative medicine and longevity space, and we utilize modalities like stem cell therapy, peptide therapy, plasmapheresis, ozone treatments, laser therapy, all to create a beautiful symphony to get you to where you want to be. You can find us at www.charahealth.com. Chara-health.com. That's C-H-A-R-A. Yeah. So how do you juggle having kids and also making sure that yourself is healthy and vibrant?

I'm selfish. I'm selfish in that sense. I, you know, my day starts usually at like 4:30, 5 o'clock in the morning.

Wow.

Because I like to work out. So that for me is like, that's a non-negotiable. And everybody that knows me knows that, that the gym is going to, it has to come That's a big thing. And then it's self-care, you know, if, if my tank's not full and I can't be full for anybody else. So there are, you know, there are times where I do take time to go get my nails done or to go get my hair done or whatever the case may be, because I also think when you feel good, when you look good, you feel good. And when you feel good, you do good. And it all, you know, it's all synonymous. Um, so I try to take care of myself because you know, the way that you look and the way that you feel governs everything else that you do. So there's, there's that part of it. And then the balancing of the kids, you know, I look, I love my kids. Everybody knows this. They're the number one driving force in my entire life. Um, so I try my best when I am, like I just came back from Asia, to be as intentional as I possibly can with them and share these special moments. Because that's why we work so hard, is to have these special moments that we can endure. Now, are we going to endure this every day? Probably not. Are we eating dinner together every day? Nope, we're not doing that. But the time that we do get to spend is extremely intentional time.

Yeah, yeah. So, um, yeah, it can't be easy. I mean, it's probably harder for a woman having to juggle kids and Oh, for sure.

'Cause my husband just gets to be, he just gets to come to work, but then he doesn't have to, you know, schedule the dentist appointment, show up at open house. My daughter's going to college, so now I have to leave. I just came back. Now I have to leave on Wednesday to go to orientation with her. And then after that, I gotta come back and meet the teacher with my youngest son. So, and then my husband, all he needs to do is show up to work and show up at home. That's it. He doesn't have to cook. I still, you know, I still cook. I still do everything. That a wife and a mom should do.

He sounds like a very lucky man.

Yeah, I think so. I think so.

Yeah, and you, we mentioned a little bit before the show that you dealt with anxiety at some point, right? Is that, how was, was that something that was with you since you were in younger days or did that something that came up when you were working?

I deal with anxiety Probably on a daily basis, I would say. It is, um, it's— I have had anxiety. I probably had anxiety my whole life. I just— nobody knew what it was until my 20s when I was diagnosed with it. Um, but you know, the thing with anxiety is that, and I told you this, I think it's a superpower and it's something for people like us that are A-type. I think it just kind of comes with the territory. But I also think that with anxiety, I don't let the anxiety control me. I control feel the anxiety. I know that it's there. It's gonna happen. It's debilitating. I know what it's like to panic. I know, I, I know the feeling day to day, but it is, um, it's just a part of me that is, that is a superpower that unfortunately, you know, comes with who I am.

Hmm. Okay. Um, sounds like there's a lot of acceptance there, but why do you think this is your superpower?

Um, because I think that, you know, studies have shown that highly intelligent people have anxiety, especially people that are, that are driven, people that are A-type. It's, it's there. This, it's your mind doesn't stop. I can't turn my mind off. So instead of, you know, and I don't medicate, I do not medicate. Instead, I try to divert my mind by going to the gym, by trying to stay healthy. Um, But I just think that it's just something that is like, it's, you know, I'm the type of person, it's either all or nothing. And the anxiety is kind of the same thing. It's, it's either ha, it's gonna happen and it's gonna happen at a full speed. So I've just learned to deal with it. That's really what it's come down to is just learning to deal with, with what it is instead of hiding or, or not talking about it. For many years I was embarrassed that I suffer from it, but It is, it's, I think it's just a big part of my personality that makes me who I am.

Yeah, yeah, definitely. I mean, I, I'm, I was trained as a psychiatrist, so I've helped a lot of people with anxiety. So at some point, the anxiety, if it's debilitating, then probably, you know, something has to be done, whether or not it's medication or meditation. So yeah, but, but I can see, because I myself, you know, I deal with some anxiety as well. I think sometimes we don't, you know, at least for me, I didn't know what it was. I just, I didn't feel comfortable.

Right.

How I was, but sometimes it's a brain that's going very fast, is seeing a lot of things and a lot of possibilities and anticipating things. So I can see why it could be a superpower because one thing I think it makes me fast.

For sure.

I'm like, this is, should have happened yesterday already, right? Let's just, let's get to it. Let's get it done.

That's how I am. I'm like, come on, let's go on every— my husband hates this part of my personality. I'm always like, come on, we got to get it done right now, right now, right? And like, I'm talking to him at 11 o'clock at night right before we go to sleep. I'm like, and this and that. He's like, this has got to stop. This is crazy. Stop.

Right, right. Yeah. So it may be— I can see it may be a little difficult for others who don't have such a sense of urgency. I think I probably— I've seen that with my employees. If I want things done right now because that's how I feel internally, to them is like, just, you know, chill.

Yes. Well, I know I hear this all the time. Relax, Mara, though. The sky's not falling. I'm like, it's falling. We need to do it now.

Oh my goodness. So the, um, as far as, as you know, maintaining a, a, you know, in, in a good state, what, what other things do you do to help you, you know, to, to be in a, you know, in a centered place to, to be there for your businesses and for your family?

Um, the gym. I mean, that, that it really is, you know, some people drink coffee in the morning. I go to the gym. It's a night and I spend a lot of time in there and I started doing this. I love this hot mat. This is hot. It's not Pilates, it's hot mat workouts. I love it. I absolutely love it. It's still a guided workout, but it's in the heat and they have like all different kinds from Hot Booty to Tone and Sculpt. And it just gives me 45 minutes like, and I work out. So it's all like this whole thing that I did, this whole ridiculous routine, but whatever. But it gives me, you know, I have this time in the morning from like 5 in the morning till about 7:30, so 7:30, it depends if I go to the class, but it's like this moment of clarity, right? It's the, it's that time where you can breathe, that I'm just Mara. I'm not a businesswoman. I'm not, you know, I'm not a mom. I'm not a wife. I'm just Mara. So when I start my morning, I feel so much better. You know, I feel centered. So this way, if my days are long, I can take on, I can take on everything. Having that just a little bit of clarity, that 2, 2 and a half hours of clarity of just me. Might sound selfish, but it helps center me throughout my entire day and week.

Wow. And you do that every day?

I do it probably about 5 to 6 times a week.

Wow. And what do you think—

I need it.

What do you think it did for your, for your physical health?

Oh, for my physical health, I'm so crazy about that. Um, my dad died when I— when he was 38, so I'm like insanely like crazy about staying in shape and whatnot. Um, for your physical health, I mean, you feel good, you look good. You know, as you get older, you lose your, you lose your, um, elasticity, you're losing muscle. I think at the older I get, I think the— I feel like I look the best that I've ever looked than even in my 20s. My hairdresser says because I was broke in my 20s, but whatever. Um, but it's, it's about, you know, it's mind, body, and soul. You need— I think it kind of all goes together. And then the working out just helps you. It just keeps the endurance up. I feel like I'm, I feel like I'm 20-something years old.

Hmm. Wow.

Yeah.

Do you consider yourself a biohacker?

I think so. I need your biohacks. No, I need your biohacks. I'm trying to defy aging over here.

Right, right. We're all in the same camp. And I really believe that human beings, you know, as we rapidly progress in our technology, that within the next 20, 30 years, that we're just going to have two groups of humans, that we could be the same age. We'll be going to a class reunion, right, at age 65, and one group will look just like age 65. The other group look like they're 35.

I agree.

Utilize everything. The other one wants to age naturally, whatever that means.

I hear this all the time from my friends. They're like, like, why are you so— why are you trying to defy it? I'm like, why not? Why not? You know, I don't, I don't, I don't want to get older. I want to feel good. I want to stay younger and healthy and be there for my kids and my grandkids. Like, I, I don't want to be— they were showing this. Did you ever see this thing, like Blanche from The Golden Girls, how she looked at 41 versus like how 41-year-olds look today? And they like, they, they did this comparison And it's, it's funny because now, why wouldn't you want it? Why wouldn't you want a biohack? Why wouldn't you?

Yeah, such a great question. Why not? Right.

I agree.

Why, why would you want to decline? I always say, do you, you prefer to decline?

Yeah, I agree. I don't want to. I want to incline. I want to keep inclining. I don't want to decline.

Yeah, exactly. So what are some of your favorite biohacks? Well, exercise I'm sure is one of the biggest ones.

Oh, I am. I'm in. I'm big into peptides. I like peptides. I think that it like— and then obviously keeping up with skincare is huge, you know, just being really conscientious of your— of keeping up with your skin regimen. You're saying microneedling. I need to keep up with that. I do do microneedling. I told you I just came back from Korea. I went to Asia and I wanted— so it's— those are some of them. I did that. The, the Chamber. I just tried that. So it's really any— I'll do anything, but the— my consistent one is working out. It's definitely working out and the peptides. And I would say, and just being conscious of what I'm putting in my mouth, like not on a diet all the time, but I am pretty conscientious of what goes in my mouth. You know, I'm not— you know, not to say that I don't like a good ice cream sometimes, or— but for the most part, I do like to watch what I eat and make sure that it's decent, you know, it's healthy.

Yeah, I definitely think that's the foundation. Yeah, if you put junk, then there's just no way that you can—

yeah, you can't function.

Yeah, even if you work out and your weight is okay, your body is toxic still.

Yeah, yeah, I agree.

And what are your favorite peptides?

Oh, what am I taking right now? I take NAD right now. Um, I— the NAD for, you know, for like clarity, for anti-aging. So take glutathione for recovery. So I like the glutathione.

So the NAD, do you take in the form of injection or injection? I inject.

Okay.

All right.

Same thing with the glutathione. Same thing.

And you notice a difference with the NAD injection?

I've never taken it any other way.

Yeah.

I, I've only injected.

Do you notice a difference in your mental clarity?

I mean, I like the way that I feel. I don't know. I think I noticed the biggest difference with the glutathione, the glutathione and the Sarmorlan. I do like the Sarmorlan. I think it's paired great with working out if you're trying to see results in what you're doing. So the biggest— and maybe I need to take a little bit more NAD, but the NAD results are supposed to be really good. I've been taking it for about a year. I don't know, I mean, my mind constantly is going, so it's hard to tell. I don't know, but I do like the glutathione and the Samorlan.

Yeah, yeah. So, um, For, for you to, um, start a podcast, um, what inspired you to do that?

It was by fluke, honestly. It was a, it was a fluky— I wanted to get into public speaking and I got into the public speaking world, and then, um, I was told, you know, you have to write a book. So I wrote a book, and it wasn't a bestseller book like your book, but Wrote a book. Um, and then after that, my girlfriends were like, you have to start a podcast now. I'm like, a podcast? They were like, yeah, MILF. I'm like, MILF? My other girlfriend was like, no, you're gonna call it BILF, Boss I'd Like to F. And my other girlfriend was like, that's so professional, Boss I'd Like to Follow. And they were like, it just kind of goes with everything you're doing. This was 2 years ago. So the podcast, so I started the podcast March of last year. And it's just been such an incredible journey. I've had incredible guests like you. Akon has been on. I've had Love Island people on. I've had all types of— I mean, reality stars and doctors and lawyers. It's just been such an incredible journey meeting incredible people.

Yeah. So a lot of entrepreneurs, I'm sure.

Yes. Yes. They're all bosses in their own right. So they all have a business.

So what are some of the really striking things that you learned from all these conversations?

I mean, they pre— I would say entrepreneurs pretty much have the same, they have the same habits, they have the, the same thinking. A lot of A-type people, they're doing the same things, you know, working hard. It's the same characteristics. They all have grit. I would say that's the number one defining, the defining thing from all the entrepreneurs is they have grit and they're not afraid.

Right. I mean, Nothing's going to knock them down, basically. Yeah, yeah.

I would say every single entrepreneur that I've met, from Akon to— everybody has a story, right? It's just how do you want your story to end, and are you going to let your story define you, right?

I think, yeah, that's one of my favorite, um, pod— I guess that's a podcast. Yeah, it's, it's a How I Built This, um, from Guy Raz. He's interviewed the biggest names, the, you know, the biggest, you know, billion-dollar companies, multimillion-dollar companies. He interviewed all these founders and yeah, what's interesting is that it seems like no one had a smooth path that to get to where they are, they've always had, you know, a lot of them had very scary moments and, you know, just really unpleasant times that things seemed really rough. Yeah, no one, Just nobody has.

You think about anybody. Yeah. Everybody has had to fail a million times before they succeeded. We talk about the successes, we should talk about the failures more. But you know, I don't think any great, from Michael Jordan to Oprah Winfrey, nobody, anybody that has made it big, nobody has not experienced failure at some, and, and not once, not even twice, many times. You, you know, you have to, you have to fail in order to succeed. No, I, I don't know any person, not one person that I know has been an anomaly and completely blew it out of the water and became a success. I, I just don't know anybody from the start to the end.

No.

And if they did, you, they probably fell somewhere along the way.

Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. That's really good to know for everybody. But it's everybody in life also, we talked about, you know, life is not easy. Life's got so many challenges, but the same grit I think for business, you know, should be used for life as well. 'Cause we're all gonna have rough times.

I agree. I think for women too, I'd love to see more women, you know, take the bull by the horns and, you know, get in the arena. Like there's so much to go around. It's nice that there are more women There's a lot more statistically, a lot more women entrepreneurs, founders that are coming forth and opening businesses, but I'd like to see a lot more come into the game. Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

And, um, yeah.

So what drives you? What, what, what's your passion and what, what, what do you think you want your legacy to be?

I mean, I would say my kids obviously, like that's a very obvious answer, but I think it's more, I think it's just the need to always want more because like I said, if you're not, if you're not learning and you're not evolving, what are you doing? You're dying, you're stagnant. Right. So I think for me it's that feeling of I don't wanna feel stagnant, you know, I'm not ready to die. I'm ready to continue, you know, my legacy. I want, I'm, I'm, what is it? Your epi, your epitaph. What's it called? You know, the epitaph on your, on your, yeah. I, you have like your epitaph. I want it to be like, you know, I want, I want mine to read, you know, she never failed. Or not that she never failed, she never quit. She never quit. She was a hard worker. You know, that's— so for me, it's not one thing. I think a lot of things drive me. You know, I'm not ready to throw in the towel. I feel like I'm just scratching the surface. They say now, you know, the 40s is your 20s. So, you know, so my legacy is yet to be determined, but I know that whatever it is, I know that I wanna do it big.

Yeah, yeah. I totally resonate with that. It's, the thing is life force, you know, some people just, it's like this natural, this blossoming of life, you know, that you're searching for more because you get more and more is grand. It's kind of like, kind of like the universe expands, it gets more and more. That's the, you know, that's the natural, You know, the, the tendency for, for life. So, yeah. Yeah. All right.

Um, keep going.

Yeah. So where can people find you and follow your path and learn from you? Learn more from you?

Well, you can follow me on, you can see I'm on all socials. So I'm on Instagram. I'm even on TikTok a little bit. Not, I'm not too big on TikTok, but you can find me @marador and you'll find me on Instagram. You can also find me on the BILF Pod on YouTube, on all the major streaming networks. And if you Google my name, you'll find me, Mara Dorn.

Amazing. Thank you so much, Mara. What a lovely conversation. Thank you for watching and listening. If you enjoy this kind of content, please subscribe and turn on your notification bell so you don't miss any of my future content. And if you want to learn more about regenerative medicine or other modalities in anti-aging medicine, please go to my YouTube channel, Joy Kong, MD, and there are all kinds of videos to help you keep learning.