My Plan For Turning 60

When I started Argent Alpha in late Fall 2021, I had one objective: stay capable with each passing year.

The reason this objective was important to me was because I had experienced a decline in my capacity and it scared the crap out of me.

Specifically, I was in constant pain due to a bone on bone knee - the cartilage was gone. I could no longer ride a bike because I couldn’t bend my knee to get a full rotation on the pedals.

I also couldn’t walk more than a mile before the pain and swelling in my knee caused me to limp.

And this had a big negative effect on my mindset, outlook and behavior.

I was 55 and realizing the active life I envisioned for the next chapter in life was not only in jeopardy, it might already be toast.

The Decision

Three orthopedic doctors all said the same thing: knee replacement.

Why three? I didn’t like the answers I was getting so I kept asking until I realized something.

I wanted to solve the problem of a knee that no longer functioned well and kept me in pain.

Orthopedic surgeons offer one solution for this: knee replacement. And there are 3 outcomes from a knee replacement, 2 of them bad. 

1. Your knee gets worse

2. Your knee stays the same (but you experienced a painful procedure and recovery)

3. Your knee gets better

I didn’t like those odds. And I didn’t want to revisit this procedure in 20 years and do it again.

There had to be more than one solution to this problem.

That’s when I decided to become the CEO of my health and everything started improving from that point. 

I’ll share the complete details in a future newsletter but I improved the flexion in my knee enough to start riding a bike again and clocked over 800 miles in summer 2021 and 2022. 

My knee pain is (for the most part) gone unless I go overboard and even then, it’s a different kind of pain (the pain of hard work vs the pain of decline).

All without surgery or pain medication.

I also improved my body composition and got physically stronger. 

In fact, even though I’m 10 years older than my Crossfit days, in many ways I’m a better athlete, physically and mentally.

All this to say I had a close encounter at age 55 with what it felt like to be a man in decline.

As I mentioned earlier, the physical decline led to a mental decline. Confidence took a big hit. When your health suffers and your mobility decreases, your future gets smaller. When your future gets smaller, your present suffers. 

As Dan Sullivan says "The only way to make your present better is to make your future bigger."

So I decided to make my future bigger. I started by naming myself CEO of my health and fixing my knee. 

Next, I started Argent Alpha. This endeavor started as my personal defense against physical and mental decline and has grown to help over dozens of Men over 50 who decided they too wanted to get better with age.

As this newsletter goes live, I’m 139 days away from the 3 year anniversary of creating Argent Alpha. 

I’m also 139 days away from turning Level 60. 

I’ll turn 60 a better man than I was at 55. And I plan on continuing that trend line as each year goes by. We have Men from 51 to 76 in Argent Alpha, all of whom are on a similar journey as mine. Each one of these Men is getting better with each year.

In this week’s newsletter I’m going to share my plan for “staying capable” and going into the next decade with momentum and some of the key learnings you can apply to your own journey.

Staying Capable

Let’s start with a definition of “staying capable.” 

Think of it as a coin with two sides. 

One side of the coin has an “approach” angle (what I want) and the other side has an “avoid” angle ( what I don’t want):

Approach Angle: Creating and enjoying a quality of life that allows me to do whatever I want to do at any age. Think of this like a magnet pulling you forward.

Avoid Angle: Identifying and addressing anything that negatively impacts my Approach Angle. These are situations, conditions or experiences I want to avoid.

For more on approach and avoid goals, check out issue #050.

My approach angle is covered by everything we do in Argent Alpha (for the details of our program, check out issue #042 and issue #043. 

This includes living like my future self now, designing and living by standards we call the Alpha 5, and doing regular testing to make sure I’m living in alignment with my goals and future self. 

A huge factor is doing this with others who have similar goals, beliefs and aspirations. This quote nails it:

“For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack.”

― Rudyard Kipling, The Jungle Book

My avoid angle is any kind of issue, obstacle, limiting belief or circumstance that threatens my ability to stay capable. 

The first step is creating an awareness of what threatens your capacity and then taking action to reduce or eliminate the threat(s). 

Common areas that contribute to or diminish your capacity:

• The people you spend time with

• The food and drink you consume

• The amount and type of exercise you do

• The presence or absence of a goal

• The content you consume

• The beliefs you have about your own agency

• The net deposits or withdrawals into relationships

• Your mindset (growth or fixed)

Level 60 Plans

Later this year I turn 60 and it’s a milestone birthday for a number of reasons. 

Statistically, I’m in the 4th quarter of life. All the “old guy” things that used to apply to others apply to me. If I’m not careful, they can affect my mindset and create limiting beliefs about what is possible for me.

For example, I can start withdrawing money from a 401k or an IRA and soon social security (if it’s still around). This leads to the idea of retirement, slowing down, and a reduction in relevance.

I have two grandkids and one on the way. I have children in their 30’s. This can lead one to think about stereotypes of grandparents.

As a kid so many Men in our family and friends circle died in their 50’s and 60’s. In my little kid’s memory, a Man in this age group was old. And even though I like my personal odds, those deaths still are a data point I think about. You never know when your time will come.

Rather than accept these limiting beliefs about age, I’m going the other direction. I made my future bigger by setting some aggressive goals.

Argent Alpha offers a very detailed approach to personal annual planning. We do annual planning in December and update our plans each quarter in a process we call “Review Game Film.”

During this process I set a number of fitness goals that I wanted to achieve by November 29, 2024:

I’ve successfully completed the last two and I’m on track to complete the others. I’m feeling good about my odds and fully intend to turn Level 60 in fantastic physical condition. Not for a 60 year old guy, but for a man of any age.

Improving your health has a lot of benefits and this quote really inspires me:

"A healthy person has a thousand wishes, but a sick person has only one." - Indian Proverb

Your physical health is the gateway to achieving great things in other areas of life so I decided to apply the same approach to other areas of life. 

I started by setting an aggressive vision for Argent Alpha: to help 100,000 Men over 50 become Harder to Kill. What started out as a handful of guys working out in my garage has now become a purpose driven mission. Achieving this vision would require a different level of thinking and execution. This vision is not bound to calendar 2024 and will have a number of milestones that I plan on achieving in 2024 including releasing a book and a course.

I also set goals in my personal life including creating memorable family experiences. Later this summer our family will have its third annual family get together and I love to “brand” each trip. Some of you may receive one of these postcards in the mail later this summer:

My wife and I are also doing a ton of planned travel this year with trips to San Diego, LA, Carmel, Healdsburg, Minneapolis, Nashville, Denver, Santa Fe, Flagstaff, and Manhattan. 

Jesse Itzler’s approach is having a huge influence on the 365 days leading up to my level 60 birthday. His approach to planning and creating memorable experiences is the gold standard. So far, if 2024 is not my best year ever, it’s definitely a top 5 year.

So that’s my plan for turning level 60. It all happened on paper in December 2023 and now it’s playing out for the second time. Designing the life you want is so much better than settling for a default life.

Insider Tips To Living Your Best Life

No matter your age and no matter the date on the calendar, you can take a similar approach to designing your best life.

There are many ways to start but I’ll go back to the Dan Sullivan quote: “The only way to make your present better is to make your future bigger.”

One way to start is by using some or all of the tools we use in planning.

Another way to start is to follow the clues left by Men who are already living this way. In issue #037, I cover 8 Insider Tips for Success from Men Over 50. All of these tips are based on real life experience from the Men of Argent Alpha:

1. Make the Decision: Overcome resistance and make a decisive commitment to change limiting beliefs and take action.

2. Play the Long Game: Understand that health and fitness improvements take time. Focus on daily progress and course correct as needed for long-term success.

3. Follow a Program: Choose a comprehensive program tailored to your needs, covering mindset, sleep, nutrition, and fitness. Stick to it instead of improvising.

4. Show Up Every Day: Consistent daily effort, even if small, leads to significant results over time.

5. Take Extreme Ownership: Own all aspects of your journey, accepting responsibility for everything that impacts your progress without making excuses.

6. Get Disappointed but Not Discouraged: Expect setbacks but maintain your commitment by keeping your long-term goals in sight, using your future self as motivation.

7. Prioritize Yourself: Ensure you take care of your own health and well-being first, as this enables you to support others effectively.

8. Redefine Fun: Shift your idea of fun to align with a healthy lifestyle, avoiding habits that lead to poor health outcomes.

Take Action

If you are reading this, you have a birthday coming up. It might be in 365 days, tomorrow or somewhere in between but it is 1 year or less from today.

Consider your current trend line. Are you getting better or worse with each passing year?

Imagine the kind of life you could be living by making a few small but significant changes in your life.

Follow the 8 insider tips above, use the planning process we use at Argent Alpha or get inspired by what you just read and come up with your own approach. 

Just get going. It’s never too late…until it is.

And if you want to turbo boost your process and results, apply to join us.

Greetings from the High Country Motor Lodge in Flagstaff, AZ!

I’m finishing this week’s newsletter sitting outside and enjoying the beautiful weather here in Flagstaff.

I’m about to hit “publish” and head off on a hike of a local trail called Mars Hill trail. My wife and I will be wearing our weighted vests as we knock out this hike before heading back to Phoenix.

Today is the last day of one of our Kevin’s Rule trips that Jesse Itzler recommends. We started in Flagstaff on Monday and then had stops in Santa Fe, Red Rocks CO for a Trampled by Turtles concert and now back in Flagstaff to bookend the trip.

Every 2 months or so my wife and I go on a Kevin’s Rule trip. The first one was a trip to see Band of Horses at Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, TN. The theme (so far) of these trips is seeing a band we like in an iconic venue.

Now we get to plan the next one.

I invite you to implement your version of Kevin’s Rule…you won’t be sorry.