Three Surgeons. One Answer; How I Refused the Script and Wrote My Own

From Patient to CEO

At 55, I couldn’t walk a mile without limping.
My knee was toast. Biking was out; I couldn’t bend my knee to pedal.
Hiking with my wife? A memory.
Pain wasn’t occasional—it was a constant hum. Three out of 10 on good days. Eight or nine on bad days.

Three surgeons.
Three opinions.
One solution: total knee replacement.

But here’s the thing: they weren’t asking what’s possible. They were just following protocol.

That’s when I realized—I wasn’t in a healing system. I was in a procedure pipeline.

And I had a choice: accept it... or own it.
So I made a decision.

I stopped being a patient.
I became the CEO of my own health.

I didn’t know what the solution was.
But I believed one existed. And that belief changed everything.

Eventually, I found Dr. Gina Giuliano. After my first PT session with her, she told me to get on the assault bike and pedal.

I told her I couldn’t bend my knee enough to pedal a bike.

She didn’t flinch.
“Get on the damn bike,” she said with a smile.

So I got on.
It hurt.
But I pedaled.

That single painful rotation? That was the first rep of a new identity.
It wasn’t luck. It wasn’t fate.
It was a decision.
And that decision changed everything.

Six years later, I’m pain-free.
No drugs. No surgeries. No replacement parts.
Just consistent effort, deep curiosity, and a refusal to outsource the outcome.

I’m still the CEO of my health—and I didn’t stop at “better.”
At 60, I’m stronger, leaner, and more capable than I was at 55.

And if you’re over 50, I guarantee you’ve got your own version of that decision staring back at you.

You’ve Got Your Own Version of This

You might not have a bad knee.
But if you’ve been alive for more than 50 years, you’ve got something.

Maybe it’s a shoulder that hasn’t felt right in years.
Or a back that flares up anytime you do something “normal.”
Maybe it’s medication that tanks your energy, or a surgery that took more than it gave back.

Or maybe it’s not physical at all.
Maybe it’s the slow mental drift that crept in after your last big milestone.
You sold the company. You retired. You hit the target…
…and then something in you got soft.

We all have our version of this.

Mine was a knee.
Yours might be inflammation, burnout, a belly that won’t go away, or a calendar full of things that don’t mean anything.

Here’s the point:
You don’t need to have the same problem to follow the same process.

This isn’t about knees. It’s about drift. It’s about decline. It’s about the moment you realize:

“This isn’t who I am. And I’m not done yet.”

And when you hit that wall, I want you to remember one word.

Good.

As Jocko Willink shared in a podcast, when things are going bad, there’s going to be some good that will come from it. From Jocko:

So get up. Dust off. Reload. Re-engage. And go on the attack.

Whatever your “knee” is...
Good.
Now let’s build around it.

The Harder to Kill Decision Loop

The breakthrough wasn’t the bike.
It wasn’t Dr. Gina.
It wasn’t even the knee getting better.

The real breakthrough?
I built a mindset—and followed a process—to fight back.

Looking back, it wasn’t luck. It was a loop.
One you can follow right now, no matter what you're facing.

1. Decide

No more outsourcing.
No more waiting.
No more researching.
No more starting Monday.

This is the moment most men avoid—because it removes all excuses.

Everything changed when I stopped hoping for a fix and claimed full ownership of the outcome.
Not partial. Not conditional. Full.

Until you decide, everything is a negotiation.
You drift. You delay. You overthink. You blame.

But once you decide—truly decide—your standard shifts.
You stop asking, “What should I do?”
You start asking, “What would the man I want to become do?”

So how do you know you’ve really decided?

You stop negotiating.
You act without waiting for motivation.
You bury the alternative.
And you tell the truth—to yourself, and usually to someone else.

Here’s your gut check:
If someone followed you around for a week, watched your actions—not your words—would they know you’ve made the decision?

If not, you’re still circling the runway.

Decide first.
Everything else follows.

2. Believe

“Whether you think you can, or you can’t—you’re right.” – Henry Ford

I didn’t have the answer. But I believed one existed.
That belief cracked the door open—and once it was open, I stepped through.

Without belief, you don’t search.
And if you don’t search, you stay stuck.
Stay stuck long enough, and you start to decline.

Belief doesn’t mean blind optimism.
It means refusing to accept that what is… must remain.
It means trusting that progress is possible—even if you don’t see it yet.

Belief is the first rep of change.
It’s what gets you moving when logic says stop.

As Tug McGraw said, “Ya Gotta Believe!”

3. Get Curious

Drop the ego. Pick up the flashlight.
Once I believed a better outcome existed, I started digging.
I didn’t wait for someone to hand me the answer—I went looking for it.

I reached out to people on Instagram I’d never met.
I read studies. I scanned forums. I messaged coaches, PTs, doctors.
I didn’t just “research”—I hunted for truth.

Most men stop learning at the exact moment they need to level up.
They say, “I already know what works for me.”
That’s ego. And ego kills progress.

Curiosity is humility in motion.
It’s what allows you to say:

“Maybe I don’t know what I need. But I’m willing to find out.”

Most men don’t lack information.
They lack the drive to ask better questions—and the humility to follow the answers.

Get curious.
It’s the difference between getting by… and getting better.

4. Act

You don’t need a perfect plan. You need to take action.
Most men get stuck here—paralyzed by overthinking, waiting for certainty.

But action isn’t the result of clarity.
Action creates clarity.

I didn’t have a flawless roadmap.
I tested therapies. Adjusted my training. Changed my nutrition.
I moved forward—even when it hurt. Especially when it hurt.

That’s the key: forward beats flawless.

Because once you act, something shifts.
You build momentum.
And momentum builds belief.
And belief reshapes identity.

You’re no longer the man who’s stuck.
You’re the man who’s in motion.

5. Adapt

Test. Track. Tweak. Repeat.
This is the part most men skip.

They want results now—and if they don’t get them fast, they move on.
But transformation takes time.
You don’t bail just because something feels slow.

I gave things time to work.
Not days—weeks. Sometimes months.
But I also knew when it was time to move on.

That’s the balance:
Don’t quit too soon. Don’t cling too long.

Some things worked. Others didn’t.
I kept what worked. Cut what didn’t. Then kept going.

Real transformation doesn’t come from one big change.
It comes from relentless iteration.

Adaptation is where resilience is built.
It’s not glamorous. It’s not viral. But it’s how you win long term.

Stay rigid, and you break.
Stay adaptive, and you grow.

🔁 Now ask yourself:

Where are you stuck in the loop right now?

• Still trying to decide?

• Not sure you believe it’s possible?

• Too proud to get curious?

• Overplanning instead of acting?

• Resistant to adapt because it means admitting something’s not working?

If you’re over 50 and not where you want to be—this is why.

Fix the loop.
That’s how you become harder to kill.

Where It Led Me

That decision loop didn’t just fix my knee.
It rewired how I live.

It took me from constant pain to 10% body fat.
From feeling broken to hitting personal records at 60.
From drifting solo to leading a tribe of men who push each other to become stronger, sharper, and harder to kill.

But I didn’t stay on track through motivation or willpower alone.

I built a system—what we call the Alpha Triad:

• Future Self – a vivid identity that pulls you forward

• Alpha 5 – daily standards across mindset, sleep, nutrition, fitness, and hydration

• R.A.D. (Recurring Accountability Drivers) – the GPS that keeps you on track toward your Future Self

That’s the essence of the system. And dozens of men over 50 are using it to transform their lives.

But structure alone doesn’t ignite movement.
That takes belief. That takes boldness. That takes a creed.

That’s where the Argent Alpha Manifesto comes in.

A manifesto isn’t a plan. It’s a declaration.
A line in the sand. A call to lead. A code for men over 50 who refuse to fade.

Next week, I’ll share it with you.
If this message hit something in you—get ready for what’s coming.

Ready to Make Your Move?

You don’t need a perfect plan.
You need a decision.

That’s where it starts.

If you’re over 50 and you know you’ve got more in you—more strength to build, more purpose to pursue, more edge to reclaim—then it’s time to act.

✅ Apply to join us: https://argentalpha.com

We’re a brotherhood of men doing the work—torching fat, building strength, leading our lives with clarity and purpose.

Or start simpler:

Pick the one stage of the Decision Loop you’re stuck in—
Decide. Believe. Get Curious. Act. Adapt.
—and take one step this week to move forward.

Either way: don’t drift.
Decide who you’re becoming. Then build the life that man deserves.