I Didn't Eat for 9 Days. Here's What I Learned.

“Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.”?- Kahlil Gibran

I recently spent 15 days as a full-time resident at TrueNorth Health Center, an inpatient medical fasting clinic ironically located in the heart of Sonoma County wine country.

As part of a medically supervised fast, the stay entailed complete abstinence from caffeine, alcohol, medications, and vitamins/supplements.? I also didn’t consume solid food for nine consecutive days (a relatively short amount of time compared to many of the patients there, who water fast for up to 40 days).

Why would I, or anyone, choose to withstand what (rightly) sounds like a state of self-imposed torture?? Simply put, comfort is not conducive to transformational growth; a lesson learned from my personal history as both a lifelong entrepreneur and long-time sufferer of chronic illness.? Likening business leadership to physical sickness might seem like an odd comparison, unless you have experienced - and fully embraced - both.? Famed author Patrick Lencioni calls this sprint towards the unknown “entering the danger”.? As every entrepreneur and leader knows, the journey towards growth not only entails discomfort - it damn near requires it. ? Knowing this, I was prepared and eager to face what I imagined might be the challenge of a lifetime - along with the lessons that this trial would surely impart.

My journey to the clinic began about a year earlier thanks to a Rich Roll podcast interview with clinic founder Dr. Alan Goldhamer. Goldhamer is a fasting and whole foods, plant-based diet pioneer; the stories of his research and the transformative experiences of his patients - along with his unapologetically contrarian attitude towards big food and pharma - resonated. I had dabbled with intermittent fasting over the years, but a stay at a fasting clinic felt like the equivalent of going from junior high Spanish to a full language immersion program in Mexico City.? I was finally ready to take the leap.

First, let me preface by saying that there are countless articles, blog posts, and YouTube videos about peoples’ personal fasting experiences; most go something like this:?

“On Day 1 I felt bad.? On Day 2 I felt a little bit better.? On Day 3 I felt great.? Now it’s day 10, I’m skinny, my skin is as clear as the freshly driven snow, and I’ll conclude by explaining why I’m a better person than you.”

Instead, this article will focus on some of the bigger, more universal lessons I took home from the experience.

Lesson #1: The spirit is more powerful than the mind and the body.??

When every fiber of your being is telling you to quit (or, in this case, eat), we all have dormant reserves of will and determination deep within, universally available, that we can draw upon to stay committed.? In our modern world we place a priority on comfort and convenience - many of us can easily go a lifetime without ever having to tap into this profound wellspring of strength.? After all, few will ever have to run from a saber tooth tiger or hunt a wooly mammoth to put food on the table.? But this core strength still exists within the most basic and fundamental parts of our souls and psyche, available to draw upon in times of need.

Take-away: The peril of most major life changes we contemplate is not as perilous as that risk typically feels (to see people who are truly courageous in the face of real danger, see: our service men and women, front line workers, and our ancestors who ran from said saber tooth tigers).? Things always seem heightened when 1) they apply to us personally, and 2) we are right in the midst of it, without the perspective of time and the emotional detachment that distance brings.? Tap into your elemental strength and if you are unhappy with your circumstances - be they personal, professional, or anything else - take the great leaps that your gut tells you are necessary to grow.? As scary as it feels in the moment, looking back years later your big decisions will likely feel inevitable.

Lesson #2: The comforts of modern living are killing us softly.

If our ancestors stepped into a time machine and were transported to a modern-day hospital, they’d quickly come to the conclusion that the future of humanity includes magic, wizards, and bionic senior citizens.? But despite all of our advances, we face a new scourge of chronic illness and maladies due to the combination of the standard western diet, increasingly sedentary lifestyles, and a healthcare system designed to treat symptoms for a lifetime vs. healing systemic root causes.? And while today’s fast-paced, high tech world is replete with productivity and life hacks, most of us contend with an ever-present background hum of simmering low grade anxiety and stress.? While there are many good things that have come out of the transition to remote and hybrid work, the prospects of truly shutting off and disconnecting are dimmer than ever.

Take away: It’s easier to stay in life’s predefined lanes - be they related to diet, career, relationships, or just about anything else that matters.? Blazing your own trail is hard, scary, and offers no guarantees. But the fact is, conventional wisdom is not always wise (or at least right for you). If you don’t take control of your life - what you eat, who you spend your time with, how you devote your precious energy, what/where/when you work - someone else will.

Lesson #3: ? Everything is temporary.??

An extended fast brings along lots of highs and lows as your physiology contends with never-before experienced metabolic changes.? At times, the only thing that kept me in the fight was the knowledge that even though every hour felt like an eternity, it would all be over soon.? While the benefits of embracing the transient nature of life during times of stress might be obvious, this perspective offers rewards that apply equally in both bad times and good.? Accepting the fact that impermanence is a condition of living is not an excuse or rationale for complacency – we all should strive to make our lives and the lives of our families, friends, colleagues and communities better. ? This understanding provides the gift of resilience, an ability to better weather the lows while not getting so wrapped up in the highs that anything less than an unsustainably elevated bar is unbearable.? Joy, pain, suffering, success & failure; it’s all transient.? The pendulum is destined - maybe designed -? to continue swinging, despite our best efforts to lock life in place or push our circumstances towards the other end of the continuum.? Embracing change grants us a healthy perspective during all seasons of life, staving off hopelessness during the hard times while allowing us to live in the moment when things are going our way.?

Take-away:? Always strive to improve life, but be patient, don’t despair, and always find the opportunity to grow in any and every circumstance.

Lesson #4:? Massive transformation (in a short time!) is more than possible – it’s right in front of us whenever we want it.

In 15 days I lost 15 lbs., started averaging an hour more sleep each night (an outcome that persists as I write this two-months post-fast), and gained a newfound ability to chase my two-year old maniac around after a long day without feeling like I am running through jello.? The transformative results that come by way of reconditioning your brain and your body, by definition, require some degree of suffering.? But if you stop thinking about outcomes and commit yourself to the process, not only does this pain lessen in time (more quickly than you might think), but you can actually start to enjoy the process.? When you know that change has REALLY stuck is when you begin to self identify with whatever lifestyle or mental changes that you’ve embarked upon.? Before you know it, you aren’t just starting your day with a workout in lieu of donuts-and-doom scrolling, but you are now “the kind of person” who starts your day with a workout.? In an era of toxic identity politics, this kind of “identity lifestyle”, forged in the fire of an initial period of discomfort, leads to positive lifelong changes.

Take-away: ?Stop worrying about outcomes - and getting stuck in the wide gap between the way things are and the way you want them to be - and fall in love with a lifelong journey towards growth and mastery.

Lesson #5:? Do what you love with people you love.??

When I was at the clinic, surrounded by like-minded people leaning into this challenge (all with their own unique stories that brought them there), I experienced a renewed sense of purpose and motivation.? Time spent with the clinic practitioner and patients filled me with energy.? In an era of increasing physical, emotional, and spiritual isolation, it’s more important than ever to surround ourselves with people who inspire, lift us up, and make us better.? Remove “energy vampires” from your life if you can.? Engage in activities that fill your cup and that allow you to make your highest level of contribution relative to your unique abilities and the things that matter most.? Delegate or remove expenditures of time and energy that drain you of your precious lifeforce.? Our time on this rock is too short for anything else.??

Take-Away:? The time at TrueNorth afforded a rare opportunity for deep introspection.? Thinking back on a 20+ year entrepreneurial career, I came to the realization that the primary reason that I’ve loved working with, at, and for growth-oriented companies is because of the opportunity to help passionate, smart, motivated leadership teams grow.? Those relationships have been challenging, inspiring, rewarding, and have leveled me up.? Sitting in a room (be it physical or virtual) with these teams, digging into the root cause of challenges, identifying opportunities, and collaborating to craft transformative strategies has allowed me to make the most positive impact possible relative to my unique experience and skills while returning the dual gifts of continuous challenge and growth.

This breakthrough understanding was the inspirational spark that triggered the move towards a total career transformation, one that affords the opportunity to focus 100% of my time and energy on working directly with open, honest, vulnerable entrepreneurial leaders and companies who want more and better.??

I’m excited to officially join the Professional EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) Implementer community.? As an Implementer, I have the opportunity to work directly with entrepreneurial leadership teams to help them get more of what they want out of their businesses - be it growth, profit, or simply more time back in their lives and a greater sense of control.? The EOS ethos - love what you do, do it with people you love, make a huge difference - is one that deeply resonates, and I’m fully embracing all the uncertainty, fear, excitement, challenge, and opportunity for growth that this transformation entails.

Here’s to a 2022 and beyond of “entering the danger”, growth, and doing more of what you love - in life and business!

About the Author:

Justin Mink helps entrepreneurs and leadership teams get everything they want from their business – more growth, revenue, profit, time, and fun.?He does this by helping his clients learn, implement, and master a complete set of simple tools that make their companies more predictable and sustainable.

Justin’s entrepreneurial career has included tenures as a start-up leader helping his organization expand globally and achieve a market cap of $1B, as well as cofounding a marketing technology company that today has 75 employees.?His first experience with EOS was at an entrepreneurial organization where, within 6 months of implementing EOS, the company saw annual revenue velocity nearly double.?Perhaps most importantly, EOS freed up leadership and all team members to work 40 hour weeks.

Today, Justin is dedicated to helping entrepreneurs get control of their business by implementing EOS.?Caveat: Do not work with Justin unless you are open and comfortable with him pushing and pressing to make you great!

In his free time, you’ll find Justin wrestling with his toddler, cooking, practicing Spanish, and exploring Dallas and the world with his wife Kate.