How I’m Fortifying My Body for the Storm Ahead

It’s About Getting Planted

Growing up in Columbus, Ohio, I learned early on that strength wasn’t just something you were born with—it was something you could build.

As a skinny kid with a deep hunger to get picked for basketball games at the local park, I realized I needed to claim my place. Not through flash or bravado, but through preparation and power. So I began lifting weights. Studying nutrition. Experimenting with what foods made me faster, leaner, stronger.

Over time, the basketball court became my laboratory—and my body, the instrument through which I learned the power of personal transformation.

That early fire ignited what would become a lifelong devotion to health and holistic strength. I devoured Muscle & Fitness and Prevention magazines like they were sacred texts.

But it wasn’t until I discovered the Life Extension movement by Durk Pearson and Sandy Shaw that things really clicked. Their no-nonsense, science-based exploration of anti-aging and supplementation opened a new universe of possibility.

I saw that real vitality wasn’t about vanity—it was about agency. It was about taking responsibility for your biological fate. About refusing to leave your well-being in the hands of others.

That mindset carried me through decades of experimentation. I embraced Vitamin C long before it became trendy. I tracked nutrients like others tracked stocks. I wasn’t chasing perfection—I was simply aiming to fortify for the future.

And now, as the world teeters on the edge of chaos—politically, economically, environmentally, energetically—I feel the call once again to level up. This time, my compass points East.

Lately, I’ve been diving even deeper into Chinese Medicine and holistic healing practices. What fascinates me is the way these ancient traditions don’t just treat symptoms—they cultivate harmony. They look at the whole being: spirit, body, energy, time, and the changing rhythms of nature.

I’ve transitioned to a plant-based diet, not out of trendiness, but out of alignment. I’m already feeling the shift. My sleep is deeper. My energy, more sustained. My focus has sharpened, and my skin has taken on a vibrancy I hadn’t seen in years. The greens are doing their job—cleansing, energizing, restoring.

But the real revelation has been the discovery of the Five Seasons of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Unlike the four-season calendar we’re taught in the West, Chinese Medicine includes a fifth transitional season—Late Summer—that bridges the energetic shifts. Each season is associated with an organ system, an element, an emotion, and a spiritual directive. And it all begins with Spring.

Spring, the Wood element, corresponds to the liver—the body’s great filter and detoxifier. It’s the season of growth, clarity, and direction. Just as seeds push through the soil, we too are invited to emerge, to renew, to set intentions that will shape the arc of our year.

In TCM, Spring is the perfect time to cleanse—not just physically, but energetically. To release stagnation. To refine focus. To plant the seeds of resilience.

So at present, I’m aligning with that wisdom by treating my body like sacred ground. Every bite of bitter greens, every moment of qigong, every breath I take with intention is part of my preparation—not for vanity, but for vitality. Not for ego, but for endurance.

Tough times are coming. I feel it in the air. But I’m not afraid. Because I’ve been preparing for this moment all my life.

From the courts of Columbus to the pages of Life Extension, from the temple of my own body to the ancient scrolls of Chinese Medicine—I’ve walked a path of sovereignty.

A path of deep knowing that true power is not what you can lift, but what you can sustain. And what you can transform.

Let the winds howl. I’m rooted, ready, and rising.

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