Squad, let me ask you something. You ever finish a 12-hour day, look at your calendar, and think, “Man, I was busy today.” 12 meetings, 40 emails, phone’s ringing nonstop, you’re putting out the fires left and right. [00:01:00] But here’s my question: What did you actually move forward? I’m blessed to coach a talent agent out in Los Angeles.

She’s on the come-up, big time, signed some really cool people in the past couple months. And in that business, everybody wants a piece of your time. Calls, meetings, clients, negotiations. You could feel every minute of your day just reacting to everybody else’s priorities, and that’s something we work on at coaching, making sure things that actually grow your business and create opportunities don’t get buried underneath that noise.

‘Cause squad, being busy can become an addiction. I, and I’m so guilty of that. It makes you feel productive without requiring you to make the hard decisions, and sometimes that hard decision is making the call you’ve been avoiding, having uncomfortable conversations, or saying no to something good so you can say yes to something that actually matters.

So here’s the coaching nugget this week. Before you start tomorrow, identify one thing that absolutely needs to move forward. Write it down. Give it a time on your calendar and protect that time like somebody’s trying to steal your wallet. Then at the end of the day, ask yourself one question: Did I move the needle, or I just move the meeting from meeting to meeting?

Remember, squad, [00:02:00] we’re working to live a life of options and not obligations, and the calendar packed with everybody else’s priorities, that’s a whole lot of obligations. Stop measuring your day by how much you did. Measure what actually moved. And talking about moving the needle- Yeah, I have today… What if I told you the secret to getting more out of your brain might actually be to stop trying so hard to focus?

And what if the way you think could influence not just how you perform, but how you age? Buckle up, because today’s guest flew in from New York to join me right here in studio here in South Florida. We’re about to have one heck of a conversation. Dr. Srini Pillay is a Harvard-trained psychiatrist, brain researcher, best-selling author, and then one of the most fascinating minds working at the intersection of neuroscience, human performance, and longevity.

We’re talking about a man who spent 17 years conducting brain research at Harvard, has advised organizations like the United Nations, World Bank, Coca-Cola, has been featured on all those three initial news stations, CNN, NPR, Forbes, Harvard Business Review. He’s written [00:03:00] award-winning books, including Life Unlocked and Tinker Dabble Doodle Try, where he challenges something most of us have been taught our entire lives: that more focus always means better results.

And squad, get this, he’s also a musician, award-winning poet, and a pioneer in something called psychogenic longevity, exploring how our mindset may influence how long and we live. He’s been involved in initiative to bring Blue Zone longevity principles to the Bronx, and now y- he’s all about serving people.

And that’s why me and Doc, we get along really well. He… I was blessed to be featured on his podcast. Really blessed. And if you go to his Instagram, 125,000-plus followers. The guy is highly sought after. Doc, thank you so much for coming in the studio, brother. 

Dr. Srini: Thanks so much for having me, Cliff. 

Coach Fergie: Yeah.

You flew in from New York- … to hang with us here in South Florida. I know you went to an awesome event last night, the Elle Macpherson and whatnot. You’ve accomplished so much, from Harvard to advising some of the biggest organizations on the planet. But take all those credentials away for a second.

Who is Dr. Cerini when nobody’s watching? 

Dr. Srini: I think Dr. Cerini is someone who doesn’t really believe in boundaries or limits, and someone who lives his [00:04:00] life according to possibility. And I like to walk the walk, when I’m talking about possibility. And so for me, I, yeah, I’m trained as a doctor, but I’m, and I’m also trained as an executive coach.

But I have a love of music. I studied music. And I wanted to write a musical, so I wrote a musical. But I also love technology, and I love artificial intelligence. 

So I have some AI startups. But even though I have AI startups, I also feel like there should be investment in humans, so I’m starting a center for human illumination.

The- Oh, wow … I think life just continues to grow for me, and I feel excited about what’s going on in the world. In fact, I talked to someone recently, and they were in this doom and gloom narrative. And I was like, I get the doom and gloom narrative. It definitely exists.” But that’s not how I wanna spend the rest of my life. I wanna spend the rest of my life in the illuminated narrative, encouraging people to seek their greatest possibilities while they’re alive and while they can do something with their lives. 

Coach Fergie: Wow, Scott. You hear that? Loves ex- lives according to possibility, right?

There’s so many people that kinda live according to what [00:05:00] they’ve been given and then think that’s all it is, right? That’s a biggest brain… the brain’s the biggest lie, right? I coach young athletes to CEOs. I see people have all the talent in the world but keep getting in their own way, right?

Yeah. So what’s the biggest lie our brains, Doc, you know, tell us what we’re capable of, and how… And why do we just keep believing what we’re, what our, what… I always say Talk to yourself, not listen to yourself so much, but what do you feel about that? 

Dr. Srini: I think a lot of times people get stuck in old habits and th- and when you’re stuck in the habit pathways in your brain, you can’t seek new vistas.

Now, when people have a problem, their first go-to is problem-solving, which sounds logical. But Richard Boyatzis at Case Western University has shown that the worst thing you can do when you have a problem is just to go try to solve it. 

The first thing you should do is try to understand what your ideal self is because your ideal self is your compass and your navigator, and that self will take you to your goal.

Coach Fergie: The authentic self [00:06:00] then, right? 

Dr. Srini: Yeah. Or- So if you ask what is the ideal self?” So I have a free Ideal Self Guide at nas.com- … that people can download. 

Coach Fergie: Okay. 

Dr. Srini: And you fill it out, and it will help you understand whether you’re living your life according to your values, and whether you are honoring what you can honor, whether you are letting people bring you down or lift you up.

And once you have a good understanding of what you wanna be, that becomes a template for your brain, so your brain can navigate towards something that you know you want. But most people go through life with a very unclear understanding of what their ideal self is. 

Coach Fergie: And they wanna take pieces of other people to make it into themselves, right?

Dr. Srini: Yeah, exactly. 

Coach Fergie: So you’re saying be authentic, be transparent with yourself, and lean into that. 

Dr. Srini: Correct? Absolutely. Yeah. 

Coach Fergie: Okay. 

Dr. Srini: Lean into your own values. For example, some people… I spoke to someone the other day about this i- d- doom and gloom narrative, and he was saying with this new center, is making money one of your goals?”

And I was like, “Yeah, definitely.” Absolutely. 

And he was like that, that’s not the case for me.” And I was like, “Why?” He said I don’t know that I can do something social and make money at the same time.” And I was like that, [00:07:00] that’s you.” 100%, yeah. “That’s absolutely fine, but that’s not me.”

There will be a nonprofit arm, which will be a research arm- 

Coach Fergie: Absolutely. 

Dr. Srini: Sure … but I want a for-profit arm- Yeah … and I wanna do good and also get something from that. So if you know that your value is making money- Sure … say that out loud to yourself. Don’t just live in some kind of guilt- Love that

or quietness around that. 

Coach Fergie: Are you an affirmations guy? You said- Yes … say it out loud. Okay. 

Dr. Srini: Yes. I, I- Okay … there’s a lot of research to show that affirmations- Absolutely … actually work. 

Coach Fergie: If… It’s not just said in kind of incantation. You know- Yeah … actually getting your body involved, the physiological, right?

Yeah. So with my clients, I actually take a lot of their affirmations and flip it to a question because you’ve forgot more about this than I’ll ever know, but with regards to we’re, we’ve evolved to problem solve. We’re the only living creature that does not live to their ultimate potential, right?

Pe- people say the, that dog’s fat.” The owner’s probably a little heavy and doesn’t walk the dog, right? A tree will only grow as high, right? So I just think that we handcuff ourselves into believing other people’s beliefs. 

Dr. Srini: Yeah I think people [00:08:00] have a fear of failure, but they also have a fear of success.

Coach Fergie: Huge. 

Dr. Srini: And- 

Coach Fergie: I was that guy, bro. 

Dr. Srini: Yes. Yeah. Yeah. There’s a concept in business, I’ve also taught at Harvard Business School and one of the concepts is called crisis at the summit, where people reach the top or what they think is the top, and they push on the gas, and they can’t go up further.

And at that point they start to freak out, and they start to destroy themselves, their businesses. So it’s important to be able to accept your success, but to also create growth goals for yourself- 

Coach Fergie: Yes … 

Dr. Srini: so that you can continue to grow. 

Coach Fergie: In, i- in the power of not focusing, right? Which I’m all about that, believe it or not.

I think that when we lock in too much, we forget a lot, right? But in your book, Tinker, Dabble, Doodle, Try, you challenge the idea that more focus automatically produces better results. Right now, I’m a discipline, execution guy. I’m up at 4:45, blah, blah, workout, cold plunge, and all that other jazz, right?

But how can intentionally letting our minds wander actually make us sharper, more creative, and more productive? 

Dr. Srini: So there are many [00:09:00] circuits in the brain, but there are two opposing circuits. There’s the focus circuit, which is very important. When you need to get something done- Sure … you do need to focus and you do need to start, finish, pay attention.

But there’s the unfocused circuit in the brain called the default mode network, and this circuit does things that the focus circuit can never do. This is the circuit in your brain that’s responsible for complex thinking. This is the circuit in your brain that’s responsible for abstract thinking. 

This is the circuit in your brain that will dig in the nooks and crannies of your brain to find memories that the focus circuit could never find. 

In fact, Albert Einstein, when he talked about his discovery, he said that the theory of relativity was a musical experience. 

Coach Fergie: Wow. 

Dr. Srini: After he discovered it through this unfocus, he actually put this together through focus.

Elon Musk has talked about this- 

Coach Fergie: Sure … 

Dr. Srini: in terms of, where his best ideas come from. He said he doesn’t know why, but his best ideas seem to come in the shower. That’s because- 

Coach Fergie: Me too, bro. Totally … 

Dr. Srini: when you’re in the shower- 

Coach Fergie: Yeah … 

Dr. Srini: your mind is wandering. It’s putting two and two together.

So if you stay in focus mode, there are several problems with that. One is that it [00:10:00] exhausts the brain. It drains the brain of energy. 

Coach Fergie: Sure. 

Dr. Srini: Secondly, if you’re super focused, you’re not gonna pay attention to what’s coming in the future. 

You’re not gonna pay attention to what’s around you. 

And you’re not gonna be able to be creative because being creative involves connecting two or more things.

If you’re focused on one point, that’s impossible. 

Also, the unfocused circuit in the brain is the circuit that writes your life story. It’s the it’s the circuit that is, that we call the self circuit. 

Coach Fergie: Is it a unconscious part of it, or- It- … the subconscious part of it? 

Dr. Srini: It often is subconscious.

Okay. But this particular circuit, the default mode network, is the circuit that codes for self. 

Coach Fergie: Got it. 

Dr. Srini: So if you wanna be self-connected and you’re just, and you’re just focused, focused, you’re not gonna be self-connected. So there are several things you can do to strategically unfocus. 5 to 15 minutes of a nap will give you one to three hours of clarity.

Coach Fergie: Yes. I do the binaural beats. I had them built for me, where you have to wear headphones with them, right? And it just- … it’s just 10 minutes of relaxing. I think it… You’ll know what wave it puts me in, maybe delta wave or one of them. But it just, [00:11:00] when I get out of it, I felt like I’ve slept for two hours, right?

Yeah. And just, and feel ready to rock and roll, right? Yeah. So just bringing it down, calming yourself, ’cause that’s where a lot of the best ideas happen, right? 

Dr. Srini: There, there’s another technique called positive constructive daydreaming. 

And this was discovered by Jerome Singer in the 1950s. 

Coach Fergie: Okay.

Dr. Srini: And what he found was that if you’re just daydreaming at your desk, it doesn’t help. If you are thinking of last night’s indiscretions, it doesn’t help. But if you are doing something low-key, like knitting or gardening, if you can knit or garden, or going for a walk- 

… 

Dr. Srini: And you let your, and you let your mind wander- your creativity becomes super high 

Coach Fergie: Daily sabbatical, I call it, with my clients.

I’m like, “Go take your daily sabbatical. Go for a walk. Just chill out. Something will come to you. Don’t even try.” And it’s funny, Brian Mother, producer, he always says… I’m, I wear a lot of, Shout out to Todd McLaughlin over there at Native Yoga, but, w- yoga. I wear a yoga shirt a lot.

I love yoga, and some of the best ideas have came to me on the mat. I’ve gotten up, and Todd will be like, “Where are you going?” “I have an idea. I have to put it in my voice notes.” It happens like [00:12:00] that. And squad, talk about… This is just amazing. This time is flying by. We’re gonna throw it to my sponsor, Steve Austin with Rise Mortgage, with his Mortgage Nugget of the Week.

When we come back, we’re gonna talk to my good friend, Dr. Srini, about, success maybe coming to prison and how we can break out of it. So Steve, take it away. 

Steve Austin (Rize Mortgage Mortgage Nugget): Thanks, Scott. Happy Saturday, everyone. This is Steve Austin with the Rise Mortgage Dynamic Team, here with your Mortgage Nugget of the Week.

Here’s a mortgage tip that could change the way you think about buying a home. Just because one lender tells you no, doesn’t mean you can’t qualify for a mortgage. Here’s why. Every lender has different guidelines, loan programs, and requirements, and what doesn’t work with one lender might be a great fit for another.

That’s why working with a mortgage team that has multiple financing options is so important. At Rise, we combined the advantages of being a direct lender with the flexibility to broker loans when needed. So whether you’re self-employed, have a unique income, or just don’t fit the traditional mortgage box, don’t give up after one no.

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Rize Mortgage Sponsor Spot: Are you looking to finance your dream home, vacation getaway, or an investment property? The Rise Mortgage Dynamic Team and Company is here to help. Steve Austin and his team, their expert loan advisors combine local knowledge with cutting-edge technology to make your financing process efficient and seamless.

Whether it’s your first home or your next investment, trust Steve Austin and the Rise Mortgage Dynamic Team and Company to guide you every step of the way. Visit them today and experience the perfect blend of technology and personal touch. Steve [00:14:00] Austin’s Rise Mortgage Dynamic Team, your local experts in residential financing.

Call Steve today at 561-352-9278. That’s 561-352-9278. 561-352-9278. NMLS number 1604663. 

Coach Fergie: Hey, Stevie, thank you so much for the mortgage nugget, and a lot going on out there in the real estate world, and blessed that you are out there taking care of the clients, Stevie, so thank you, buddy. And we’re back with my good friend, Dr.

Cerini. Doc When success becomes a prison, right? You’ve worked with incredibly successful leaders. They’ve built multi-million dollar businesses, but they’ll still wake up miserable, anxious, trapped by everything they’ve created. So what’s happening in their brains, and how can they maybe slow it down so they recognize that their own success is [00:15:00] working against them?

Dr. Srini: A lot of times when people are trying to be successful, they think of it in a unidimensional way. But if you really wanna be successful, you’ve gotta be super ambitious and think about every part of your life that matters. Your health. Yes. You wanna think about m- you wanna think about money. Yes. You wanna think about relationships.

You wanna think about sense of purpose. You wanna think about spirituality and religion. 

Coach Fergie: Yes. Yes, 

Dr. Srini: so good. And so why should we only focus on money? Or why should we only focus on relationships? Yes. Every human being has the capacity to think in a multidimensional way. 

And so I think when someone is successful financially, but they feel miserable otherwise- 

Coach Fergie: Yeah

Dr. Srini: it’s often because not only have they lost their sense of purpose, but they’ve lost their sense of vitality. Now, if you ask, why do successful people lose their sense of vitality? Pierre Martei at the Paris Psychosomatic Institute found that there was an epidemic of a condition that he called essential depression, and in medicine, essential means primary, meaning it means without cause.

So they tried to understand what was going on with these people, and he said [00:16:00] most of the people they were seeing, even people without psychiatric disorders, had this absence of vitality. And the absence of vitality came from being overly operational. The whole day was what I do eight to nine, nine to ten, ten to eleven, eleven to twelve.

There was this too much structure, and one of the things that was most remarkable about this was that having this absence of vitality because of being too structured during the day- 

Coach Fergie: Right … 

Dr. Srini: translated into more physical problems, more cosmetic surgeries. So when you try to look at the deeper piece of this- what is that success can sometimes make you hunker down, but when it makes you hunker down, it takes away the flowing energy that, that people seek in order to be human. So I often say, when people think about illnesses, they often think I’m I’m as well as how many diseases I have.”

Introduction: Sure. 

Dr. Srini: But the World Health Organization has found that the number of diseases you have does not determine how healthily you live into old age. 

There are actually five factors that determine how healthily you will live into old age. The first [00:17:00] is how well you hear and see. The second is how well you move.

The third is how clearly you think. The fourth is how in control of your emotions you are. And the fifth is vitality. So I would say to everybody, when you’re successful or when you’re trying to be successful, the moment you start to feel like your vitality is being drained, that you’re way too burnt out, stop, because it’s not gonna just affect your sense of self- it’s gonna affect your body as well. 

Coach Fergie: Absolutely. And a lot of people, like I, I say this a lot of people look for balance, right? Put 10 pounds on one side, 10 pounds on the other side, it’s zero. I think balance is kind of junk. Quick plug about my book, this Dropping Harmonic Hustle, I believe in harmony.

Like Susan and I, my fiancee, who will be my wife in two weeks, babe, we go to jazz bars. We like to listen to jazz. And I like to say what you kinda say. You broke it down where God and spiritual might be the drums, right? The guitar might be your money. Your job might be the horns, and on.

Like you said, purpose and whatnot after. Y- but if one [00:18:00] of those is out of tune, you have no harmony, right? So as a coach, that’s where I kinda lean in and find what their challenge is at that moment and kinda tune them up through my coaching. So what is your thoughts on kind of that analogy?

Dr. Srini: I love that analogy, ’cause I, I think living in harmony is what everybody really seeks. 

Coach Fergie: Sure. 

Dr. Srini: The problem is- Is that 

Coach Fergie: vitality too? 

Dr. Srini: I think it’s a huge contributor- Okay … to, to vitality. 

Coach Fergie: Got it. Okay. 

Dr. Srini: I think that a lot of times we’re tempted by the external narratives in the world. We’re tempted by what we read in the media, we’re tempted by the polarization, and we get pulled in one direction or another.

Now, I’m not saying you have to just act like you’re in the middle. Own your opinion. Say what you feel. But I feel I was involved in this project recently, and I wanted to invite someone who had a completely different, Love it … opinion about it. Yeah. And every- and everyone else was like, “No, we can’t have this person.”

Why would you do that? And I was like- I love it. Yeah … “What are you talking about?” We… I don’t care. And so one person said, “You know what’s really interesting about you, is you don’t make your adversaries your enemies.” And I was like, “I’m not into enemy energy.” Enemy energy will destroy me.

I’m… I don’t need enemy [00:19:00] energy. Yeah. I can identify an adversary. Like for example, someone, I, in a, in an interview recently, someone I really respect said, I’m just broken about the world. This world is torn apart.” And I was like… He said, “Don’t you feel the same?”

And I was like, “Nope. I don’t feel the same.” He goes, “What, you… What do you mean? Are you not aware?” I said, “No, I’m as aware of the things you’re aware of.” 

“

Dr. Srini: But I think you’re choosing to be broken, and I’m choosing to be alive so I can help the people who need the help-” 

Coach Fergie: Love 

Dr. Srini: that … that they need.”

Coach Fergie: It’s a choice. 

Dr. Srini: Yeah. 

Coach Fergie: When we kinda get back to succeeding and fear of success, what you had kinda talked about, and you kinda brought that up in your award-winning book, Life Unlocked, right? Explores a lot about overcoming fear, and I see consistently people aren’t always afraid of failing, right?

Like I say, fail forward. As long as you’re progressing a little bit, right? But- Sometimes they’re terrified of what happens if they actually succeed. So what’s going on neurologically? I don’t think there’s anyone on this earth that can explain this any better, and where people can understand, right?

When, what happens neurologically when fear keeps us stuck? And how do we come… what’s your kind of [00:20:00] secret sauce a little bit about breaking that cycle? 

Dr. Srini: So what… So a lot of things are going on in the brain when a person is afraid. One of the things that’s going on is the brain’s alarm center, we call the amygdala is super activated.

So it’s just going on and on. Now, the, that alarm center is also connected to the thinking brain. So when you have these, these earthquakes in the fear center, you get these aftershocks in the thinking brain. Ooh. So there’s a simple five-step process- Wow … that I teach people defined by the mnemonic CIRCA, C-I-R-C-A, that can help turn this alarm down and bring the needle back to the normal position.

Coach Fergie: Mnemonic CIRCA? 

Dr. Srini: Yeah. And so CIRCA stands for, the first C is chunking. Rather than getting up on a Monday morning, opening up your email, and being overwhelmed by it, just say, “How do I break this up into different time segments?” 

Coach Fergie: Love it. 

Dr. Srini: The I is ignore mental chatter, which is mindfulness, which is basically a simple exercise that can also help your genes, by the way, and potentially help you live longer in a healthier state.

Coach Fergie: I believe 

Dr. Srini: that, 100%. You just sit back in your chair, close your eyes, place your attention on your breath, [00:21:00] and just pay attention to every inhalation and exhalation. And if your mind goes wandering, you gently bring this back to your breath. Now, I know some people listening to this probably are like, I’m not a meditating type.”

You don’t have to do that. You can also, in order to ignore mental chatter, there’s a technique that was just studied at Stanford called cyclic sighing, which is basically you breathe in through your nostrils to halfway, then you breathe in right to the top And then you exhale through your mouth.

And you just repeat this, and this can help calm you down. So that’s the I in CIRCA. 

Coach Fergie: Okay. 

Dr. Srini: The R in CIRCA is reality check, which is this too shall pass. It’s basically self-talk. Four 

Coach Fergie: best words ever. 

Dr. Srini: Yeah. Because, sometimes you have a horrible day, you can’t rationalize it, your way out of it.

It’s a horrible- Sure … it’s just annoying. But saying to your brain, “This too shall pass,” can help change the expectation that the catastrophe is gonna last forever. 

Then the second C in CIRCA is control check. What can I control? What can I not control? And what’s the difference? ‘Cause you get up in the morning and you hear about 20,000 negative things in the world, and all of a sudden you’re trying to…

You’re worried about them, but there’s nothing you’re gonna do about them. 

[00:22:00] Lady Gaga was famous for saying, when she was burnt out in her career she said she realized at some point that she was doing things she didn’t like to do. She doesn’t like selling perfumes. She…

And so she was like, I, so I went home and I looked, I… And so I just started to say no.” And she said, “And I went home and I looked at myself in the mirror and I said, ‘You, I can sleep with every day.’ Because you’ve got integrity, you’re saying what you actually think.” 

Coach Fergie: Yeah. 

Dr. Srini: And then the last A is attention shift.

How do I shift my attention from the problem to the solution? Oh. Because so many people go on and on about their problems- Love it … but they’re not spending time in solution land. 

So those five letters, C-I-R-C-A, stand for control check stand for chunking, ignore mental chatter, reality check, control check, and attention shift.

Those five things can help decrease this alarm going off. 

Coach Fergie: I love that. Yeah that’s amazing. It’s broken down into ac- or an acronym too. Love how you did that. W- we only got about four or five minutes, but I do wanna get into the blue zone longevity principles, right? That you’re bringing in.

Here’s my question, like how do we take this [00:23:00] incredible research that’s being done And make it useful to maybe the single parent working two jobs, or the exhausted small business owner, or someone who can’t, really afford the expensive retreats. What would you tell those people, to help them lean into that blue zone thinking?

‘Cause I’m all about it. I… unless God takes me, 107 is my y- number of years, and I’m still gonna be vital, right? That’s what I’m thinking. But what, what do w- we tell the people that maybe can’t get on board with going to a retreat or something like that? 

Dr. Srini: That a lot of your physical health is in your hands because it depends on your mindset.

So there are different mindsets- Yeah … that can actually change your inflammation and immunity. So for example, optimists have 11 to 13% longer lifespans. People who cannot focus at all, who have ADHD, have twice the rate of death before the age of 46. Confidence is a really important thing, but confidence in th- in this world does not mean I’m- I know how to do something and I’m gonna do it.

It’s existential confidence- … which is basically a [00:24:00] commitment to a possibility that is not yet a reality that you believe you can deliver on, even if you have not delivered on it in the past. 

Coach Fergie: Love it. 

Dr. Srini: And then there are things like awe. Every day, y- you look at a sunrise. Yes. Y- it changes your- Love it

your level of inflammation. 

Coach Fergie: Yes. 

Dr. Srini: Body awareness- Yes … is super important. 

Coach Fergie: Barefoot walk. 

Dr. Srini: Yeah, and, and- 

Coach Fergie: Feel the grounding … 

Dr. Srini: and subjective age is actually a better predictor of health span- … than chronological age. And what does that mean? Ellen Langer did a study at Harvard where she took 70-year-old men and over, and asked them for two weeks to eat what they ate when they were 50, watch TV that they watched when they were 50.

So they had to, were immersed in 20 years earlier. 

Coach Fergie: I get it, 

Dr. Srini: yeah. And what did she find out after two weeks? They had better hearing- 

Coach Fergie: Yeah … 

Dr. Srini: better vision, and better motor function. 

So a lot of times we just go with the narrative. “Oh, I’m getting older. W- what can I do?” If you wanna think like an old person, your body will behave like an old person.

It will, 

Coach Fergie: 100%. 

Dr. Srini: Yes. And then autonomy was is actually really important. It’s important for you to make the calls in your life. There was a study done on nuns where they actually analyzed [00:25:00] their narratives, and they found that those p- th- those nuns who were more self-sufficient- Who call the shots- Yes

lived much longer. 

Coach Fergie: I 

Dr. Srini: love it. And then there’s resilience and empowerment. You don’t have to pay anybody to have any of these mindset shifts. 

And sometimes people will say- Thank 

Coach Fergie: you. So true. 

Dr. Srini: You know- Yes … ’cause sometimes people will say I’m, I’m not really an optimist.

How can you be an optimist when the world is so terrible?” Optimism is not a commentary on the state of the world. 

It is a commentary on what you, how you wish to see the world- Yes … and how you wish to live in the world. 

Coach Fergie: Love it. 

Dr. Srini: And so if you believe, believing changes dopamine.

Absolutely. It changes stress hormones. 

Coach Fergie: Yes. 

Dr. Srini: If you believe… we know from placebo studies- 

… 

Dr. Srini: That, even in certain knee surgeries, placebo knee surgeries are equal to the actual surgery. 

Coach Fergie: Yes. 

Dr. Srini: So there’s something about believing that is healing. 

Coach Fergie: That, yes. 

Dr. Srini: And I think that if people started to contemplate these mindset shifts- 

Coach Fergie: Right

Dr. Srini: and you don’t have to take everything on at the same time. If you’re at a, a point in your life where you’re feeling down, that’s okay. But remember, when you’re down, you can just look at the ground or you can look up at the sky. 

Coach Fergie: Yes. One [00:26:00] of those two, right? And we got one minute left, okay? And I have to ask this as a canned question.

I’ve been waiting to ask you this one, but how… Because you’re planting trees no one’s gonna sit in the shade of. What you’re doing is amazing, right? And again, really fast answer on this question, but how does Dr. Srini Pillay want his dash remembered? That little line in between your incarnation date and your expiration date, your life date and your death date.

How do you want that dash remembered? 

Dr. Srini: I wanna build a center for human illumination, and I wanna be responsible for upending the doom and gloom narrative so that people can understand that possibility and light is in their future. 

Coach Fergie: I love that. And squad, I don’t know about you, but I have pages of notes here in front of me that I’ve been scribbling on.

Thank you so much, Doc, for coming in. To my producer, Brian Mudd, to WJNO, everybody be safe this weekend. And also our troops out there doing the deed for the United States of America, thank you. Absolutely love your guts, squad.

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