I’m so excited that you have chosen to join Tribe! This is your platform for accessing ancestral knowledge and wisdom about health that is based on First Principles, and which have withstood the test of time.  It is a place where you can connect with like-minded people in your Tribe. Together we will cut through all the confusing information around health and give you practical and effective solutions to living a better life full of energy and vitality.

I created Tribe out of my desire to share what I have learned in my quest to understand health, healing and wellness over the last 40 years.  The information I will share in Tribe is based on what I’ve done personally to live a healthy lifestyle.  That has involved a lot of trial and error as I have tried to sort out all the confusing and often contradictory information in the field of health and wellness.  I’ll be sharing my mistakes and successes in order to help guide you towards unlocking your innate health.

Here are the First Principles I’ve discovered in my personal search for the truth about health, healing, and wellness;

1. Innate Intelligence. Your body was designed as a self-healing organism.  It has a natural intelligence which is far beyond your rational mind’s capabilities.  This intelligence monitors and controls every cell, tissue and function in your body through the central nervous system. Many factors can interfere with the ability of this intelligence to maintain health, such as diet, exercise, stress, trauma, and infection.

2. Evolution.Your body is the end result of millions of years of evolution. We are here today because our ancestors survived the very challenging environments and circumstances. They had to deal with things like ice ages, food scarcity, and predation by wild animals. They survived because they were able to adapt.

3. Adaptation.There are basically two ways our ancestors adapted and survived.  The first is that they adapted physically.  In other words over the long time span of evolutionary history, their brains and bodies changed physiologically and neurologically.  The second path of adaptation was cultural.  Over years the strategies which our ancestors developed to survive were passed down culturally through generations.  This cultural wisdom resulted in their ability to not only survive, but to thrive.

4. Time Tested. This cultural wisdom has withstood the test of time.  While modern science has validated the truth behind this wisdom, it has also created a lot of confusion because it has ignored First Principles thinking. So much of what we believe is based on some authority figure telling us that something is true. I believe we are better off going directly to the source rather than relying on “science”.  Why was it that so-called “primitive humans”: have been documented as having robust health without the aid of scientists and doctors? Why were they free of the diseases that plague us as “modern humans”.That which has stood the test of time did so because it worked, not because science “proved it”.

Navigating Tribe

You’ll see that the Tribe site is organized into 12 broad categories which detail principles of Ancestral Wisdom. To navigate in Tribe, just click the dropdown menu on the right upper side of your screen and then click on the Principle you want to explore. This information will help build a comprehensive picture of practical things you can incorporate into your life allowing your innate intelligence to express itself fully in a vibrant, healthy, and satisfying life. 

Each of the 12 Practices begins with an introduction and a Quick Start Guide that will give practical things to begin with right now. Each Practice will then lead you through a deeper understanding with articles, videos, and podcasts so you can explore to whatever level you want. Practices are presented in order of priority, meaning the degree of impact that each will have on your overall health.  For instance, Sleep is the first Practice as it is truly the foundation of health, followed by Eat, Move etc. Together, these Practices will help you optimize your health, and should be considered as a holistic strategy.  We will also be inviting you to Zoom calls in which we’ll answer any questions and dive into different topics.  These calls will be our Tribal Gatherings to share time with each other, and provide support to you. Your journey begins by understanding that you can take back responsibility for your health, and for this we need to understand a lesson from Economics.

One of the principles in economics is that of “time preference’.  The idea is that our economic future is determined by our time preferences. A “high time preference” would be anything that involves immediate gratification of our wants.  This is the consumer mentality regarding impulse buying and recreational shopping. On the other hand a “low time preference” would be to forgo immediate gratification and put away as much of our income as possible in savings and investments for the future.  These preferences are reflected in the fact that the average credit card debt for American families is $6,270.  Instead of investing in their future they are mortgaging it for present gratification.

The principle of time preference goes beyond money however, and impacts all areas of our lives, especially health.  This is reflected in the fact that 88% of Americans are now suffering some degree of metabolic dysfunction such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension, heart disease etc.  When we have a high time preference around our health we tend to indulge in immediate gratification, and have little discipline when it comes to things like diet and exercise.  This is the “someday” syndrome.  Someday I’ll eat better, someday I’ll start exercising, someday I’ll stop sitting on the couch and watching TV, etc. We’re unwilling to sacrifice immediate gratification in the present to do what is necessary to invest in a healthier future. With a high time preference we perceive investing in our future health as suffering, hard work and deprivation.  With this mindset we are delaying suffering until it is too late to make choices about our health.  

Having a low time preference regarding our health involves examining our health choices by considering their long term consequences in the future. Every day we have the opportunity to choose to do what will have a positive long term impact on our health in the future. That’s the goal of Tribe; to help you make better choices for your future.

Many times we consider these choices too difficult or hard (exercise for instance), or that we will be deprived of something (certain foods for instance).  Instead we make a high time preference choice for immediate gratification.  The better choice is to suffer a little bit now to prevent chronic suffering in the future.

Becoming aware of and overcoming our time references do not occur simply by wishing or wanting them to be different.  If it were that easy, everyone would do it. We may intend to do something about it, but not right now.  This brings up the problem of time inconsistency, thinking that what is too onerous to be endured now will somehow become easier in the future. We are estranged from our future selves because we lack the gift of literally feeling in advance the state of health and attendant emotions we will experience in the future. Our live- for- today culture has been invaded, like a deadly virus, by an insidious attitude that this moment is all that matters. Fortunately, despite the difficulties, we are capable of overcoming our time inconsistent hardwiring. Otherwise we would still be living in caves and using primitive tools.

This was demonstrated in the classic “marshmallow test” originally done by Walter Mischel at Stanford University in 1972, and since replicated by numerous researchers.

Preschoolers with a median age of 4.5 years were given their choice of a treat, a marshmallow, Oreo cookie, or pretzel, and told they could eat one immediately or wait 15 minutes and receive two. Mischel then said he had to leave the room, and then observed the children through a one way mirror as they exhibited attempts to exert self-control like closing their eyes and playing with their hair.  Some were able to wait long enough to get a second treat, while others ate their treat immediately. The study didn’t end there however as these children were tracked into adulthood.  Children who delayed gratification scored higher on SAT tests, and had higher incomes and more stable relationships.

You do have the ability to alter your time preference, and this ability will make all the difference in implementing the ancestral wisdom presented in Tribe. Doing this goes beyond employing willpower like the children in the marshmallow test used to delay gratification.  Instead, it means having a clear and certain understanding of how your choices today will impact you in the future. Stanford neuroscientist Dr. Andrew Huberman explains that when your brain is done developing around age 25 any further changes in the brain must be self directed.  No one can do this for you. If you are willing to make this effort, it will pay off in huge dividends to your health now and in the future. Tribe won’t offer you “quick fixes”, and if this is what you’re after, then this isn’t the place for you.  This is why we offer a complete refund of your membership fee if you decide within 90 days that Tribe isn’t right for you.

For more insight on making transformational change using the Tribe platform, I recommend this video from one of my favorite mentors, Ryan Holiday.

“Do you know what happens when we avoid the hard things?…..the bill comes due eventually, with interest attached.”

Ryan Holiday