#Clockedin with Jordan Edwards
Are you feeling stuck in life, wanting to grow, improve your income, or build a stronger community? Join performance coach Jordan Edwards as he interviews world-class achievers—including the Founder of Reebok and the Co-Founder of Priceline—who share their success stories and actionable strategies. Each episode provides practical tips on how to boost your personal and professional growth, helping you implement changes that can make a real difference in your life.
This podcast is designed for anyone looking to make progress—whether you're aiming to improve your mindset, relationships, health, or income. Jordan distills the wisdom of top performers into easy-to-follow steps you can take immediately. Whether you're stuck in your career or personal life, you’ll find new ways to get unstuck and start moving forward with confidence.
How to get unstuck? It’s a question many face, and in each episode, you’ll hear stories of how successful individuals broke through barriers, found purpose, and created systems to overcome obstacles. From building resilience to developing a success mindset, you'll gain insights into how high achievers continue to evolve and grow.
Looking to improve your income? This podcast also dives into financial strategies, offering advice from entrepreneurs and business leaders who have built wealth, created multiple revenue streams, and mastered the art of financial growth. Learn how to increase your income, find opportunities for advancement, and create value in both your personal and professional life.
Jordan also emphasizes the importance of building community. You'll learn how to expand your network, foster meaningful connections, and create supportive environments that contribute to personal and professional success. From philanthropists to community leaders, guests share their experiences in building impactful, values-driven communities.
At the core of the podcast are the 5 Pillars of Edwards Consulting—Mental Health, Physical Health, Community Service/Philanthropy, Relationships, and Spirituality. Each episode integrates these elements, ensuring a holistic approach to self-improvement. Whether it's enhancing your mental and physical well-being, giving back to your community, or strengthening your relationships, you'll receive actionable advice that’s grounded in real-world success.
This podcast is for everyone—whether you're an entrepreneur, a professional looking to advance, or simply someone seeking personal growth. You’ll gain actionable steps from every conversation, whether it’s about increasing your productivity, improving your health, or finding more purpose in your life.
Jordan’s interviews are designed to be perspective-shifting, giving you the tools and inspiration to transform your life. From overcoming obstacles to building stronger habits, these episodes are packed with practical insights you can use today. Whether you're looking to grow in your career, improve your income, or enhance your personal life, you’ll find value in every conversation.
Join Jordan Edwards and a lineup of incredible guests for thought-provoking conversations that will inspire you to take action, improve your performance, and unlock your full potential. No matter where you are on your journey, this podcast will help you get unstuck, grow, and build a life filled with purpose and success.
#Clockedin with Jordan Edwards
#261 - Hope Dealers: From SWAT to Wellness Pioneer
What if everything you thought you knew about aging and health was wrong? What if your genes aren't your destiny, and you could potentially live a vibrant life well past 100 years old?
Dr. Mark Sherwood, founder of the Functional Medical Institute and former SWAT officer, brings a revolutionary perspective to health optimization that challenges conventional wisdom. This eye-opening conversation reveals how the modern healthcare system is failing Americans despite costing $10,000 per family annually—more than any other industrialized nation with worse outcomes.
The transformation from law enforcement to naturopathic medicine might seem unusual, but Dr. Sherwood explains both share the same core mission: protection and service to mankind. His journey offers powerful inspiration for anyone feeling trapped in their current career, demonstrating how to reinvent yourself by following your passions while maintaining laser focus on your goals.
At the heart of Dr. Sherwood's approach are the eight pillars of health—four you control completely (nutrition, sleep, stress management, and movement) and four requiring expert guidance (genetics, hormones, peptides, and supplements). He dismantles the myth that genetics determine our health destiny, explaining that our genes have changed only 2% in 10,000 years. The explosion of chronic disease is primarily environmental, not genetic.
Perhaps most revolutionary is Dr. Sherwood's perspective on human lifespan. While many Americans resign themselves to living into their 70s, both biblical texts and scientific evidence suggest humans should naturally live to approximately 120 years when properly caring for their bodies. This isn't theoretical—he references documented cases including Jeanne Calment who lived to 122 and a current Japanese individual who is 118.
Throughout the conversation, Dr. Sherwood shares practical wisdom about becoming a "Hope Dealer," someone who spreads hope through small acts of kindness. This philosophy extends beyond physical health to encompass mental wellbeing, community service, relationships, and spirituality—creating a truly balanced approach to longevity.
Ready to redefine what's possible for your health and lifespan? Visit SherwoodTV.com to download a free e-book and explore resources to start your journey toward optimal wellness and potentially decades more vibrant living than you ever thought possible.
To Learn more about Dr. Mark Sherwood:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drs_mark_and_michele_/
To Reach Jordan:
Email: Jordan@Edwards.Consulting
Youtube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9ejFXH1_BjdnxG4J8u93Zw
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jordan.edwards.7503
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jordanfedwards/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanedwards5/
Hope you find value in this. If so please provide a 5-star and drop a review.
Complimentary Edwards Consulting Session: https://calendly.com/jordan-edwardsconsulting/30min
Hey everyone. I got a special guest here today. Today's guest is going to be a game changer. I'm sitting down with Dr Mark Sherwood, the mastermind behind the Functional Medical Institute. He's one of the original pioneers of the biohacking movement. From being a SWAT officer to transforming lives through functional medicine, he's here to share his expertise on optimizing longevity, reversing aging and how you can take control of your health. Today, mark, we're so excited to have you on the Hashtag Clocked In podcast. What caused you to change your life from this SWAT, dangerous life to the life of helping everyone with health? How did that change your life?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I appreciate you having me first of all, jordan, it's an honor to be here with you. The transition, transition it seems a little bit odd, but you get right into it. It really wasn't because, you know, from the mission of protection and service to mankind as a law enforcement officer and then transitioning to protection and service for mankind as a naturopathic doctor, and it's really about it's just a different, branded way to do the same thing. You know, I'm really trying to protect people from themselves, the unknown, maybe lack of information, and then to serve them by giving them information in a loving, kind, direct manner.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, absolutely. And how has that been for you, going from the day-to-day of the SWOT to business ownership, entrepreneurship, how has that transition been? Because I know there's a lot of people sitting there going. I would love to make a change. How do I make a change in my own life? Well, you, can.
Speaker 2:First of all, I've always been one of those persons who has always been curious about what could be done, or curious about solving what is perceived impossibilities. One of the perceived impossibilities I think we have is can I change careers, can I reinvent myself, can I do other things? And the answer is you know? Undoubtedly yes, you can. You just have to realize that if you start defining yourself, whoever you are, by your initial job, and that becomes your brand or that becomes your logo or your business card, you're probably already off.
Speaker 2:You know, because all of us, as creative human beings, have great things. You know, because all of us, as creative human beings, have great, great things, greatness to offer the world. It's just a matter of understanding who we are and what drives us, what's your passion, and then let that passion kind of begin to dream a little bit. Let it become something of a vision guide, if you will, and that can direct you into these areas that you probably never thought of and and then look at them honestly, evaluate them as is this something that I can achieve and get some wise counsel on that I think that's always a big deal and then go for it. I mean, I think that's the word of the day, go for it. Don't let fear stop you from what you should be doing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I, I completely agree and, as we were talking about a little bit before, we're constantly in this age of opportunity left, opportunity right, and everyone's like focus, focus, focus. So it's such a challenging dynamic because we don't know what's actually going to come, and I think it really comes from the hours that we're not at our job, but the hours where we start to create oh, wouldn't that be fun? And then you take a small sample size and try it out and you go okay, I want to do a little bit more. That's how I like to think about things, because I think everyone thinks it's so, this or that, and there's a lot of and in our world nowadays.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'd say so. You know, one thing I did learn from law enforcement especially the world of SWAT, if you will is if you define a goal or what you're trying to achieve, or your mission success, what does that look like? And you kind of got to work backwards. You know, like what is the goal out here, and then work backwards Well, if that's the goal, what can I do to achieve it?
Speaker 2:And it may sound a little bit non-exemplary, but it really is exemplary when I when I use this analogy is that when I was on the entry team of swat, you know, when you go into a building on some sort of a, an operation whether it be a warrant service or a hostage rescue or something like that well, you've got to be so locked in to the target ahead that, even if somebody goes down around you, you're taught to step over them and keep going forward. And that's a hard thing to catch because we tend to get distracted by things that might go a little bit wrong. And you can't do that because when you do that you compromise the whole mission and in that analogy, you might even endanger other people as well. Now, I'm not saying this is a life and death thing. I'm just saying that there's a lot of parallels to the thought process.
Speaker 1:A hundred percent. I mean, you could even compare that to you're working on a project and then you get a different opportunity and now you're thinking about that opportunity. Or, as many of us know, maybe there's some drama going on in our family's lives or our parents' lives or someone's life, and it starts to encompass them and you forget about your own life. And you see this happen so often and that's why I say to a lot of people is like you didn't choose your parents, you didn't choose your siblings. It was like you didn't choose your parents, you didn't choose your siblings. So I mean, you really have a decision to make whether you want how you want that relationship to be. I would hope that everyone wanted to be close, but sometimes that's not always the best for us, as we've seen.
Speaker 2:Compartmentalization. That concept is key. You know why you're working on this, be this, why you're working on that, be that, why you're working on that, be that, why you're working on this, do that, et cetera. And it's like I teach the staff here where I'm at the Functional Medical Institute in Tulsa, that if you're going down the hallway and I use this analogy all the time, it may sound childish, but it really does paint a good picture If you're going down the hallway to drop off information to the fax machine or drop off information to the doctor that you need to communicate now, and you see a piece of paper sitting on the ground that's on your right.
Speaker 2:First go, drop off the information, get it done, and then, when you're done with that, go back and pick up the piece of paper. In other words, you're still accomplishing both. But which one is the most critical? What is mission, urgent? And it's like delivering the information. That's what you're called to do. It's like if you're going to walk down the hallway to grab something off the coffee machine, to go give it back to the doctor, and you see a paperclip on the ground. Don't get distracted by the shiny ball or shiny glow of that. Drop the information off and then go get it, because if you start getting all spread out and you're really distractive, you really can't accomplish anything and and you know, we all know about multitasking or having that mentality it's really a lack of attention to detail A lot of times.
Speaker 1:I completely agree and I actually really enjoy that example, because there's so many times where I'm coaching people and we'll sit there and they're like well, I have my one thing that I work on, and then the rest of my time is allocated to this and I've explained to them I'm like if you just spent three hours a day of uninterrupted time, you would probably get more done than in the seven hours that you're like I'm working the whole time, cause I'm like you're just not, like that's just not possible to be able to do both and think about both, and it's the pure focus is where you get things done and even little tasks like that.
Speaker 1:It's like you get to the gym, you get out of the car and you go in the gym Like I was talking to some people yesterday and they're like yeah, I hung out in the car for 20 minutes before the gym. Why, like? These are areas that you can just capitalize and go get your time back, go claim your time back. And, yes, if you want to go scroll on your phone or do whatever, just do it on your couch. Allocate the time for that activity too, because it's not like one activity is right or wrong, it's just you just don't do these activities outside of the order that they're supposed to be done.
Speaker 2:Uh, even at the gym this morning actually a great example I had this epiphany. You know I've had it before, but I just saw it again today as I was thinking about our time together. You know, um, that people come in the gym where I exercise and I see them sitting on a machine I mean like draped on the machine, just like look like almost uh, uh, some laundry sitting on the machine and not doing anything but sitting on this on their cell phones, and I thought, why are you here? You know, I'm not talking 10 seconds, 30 seconds, I'm talking five minutes plus because by the time they have scrolled there and did the next set, I'm already three sets deep in this thing and I don't like to waste my time.
Speaker 2:I didn't go in the gym to talk to anybody, socialize fellowship, uh, give advice to anybody. I mean, I'll be friendly, but I'm there to go to work and when I'm done with that, I'll take off my headphones, take off my weightlifting gloves, put my workout notebook away, change clothes and then I'm going to work and I I really stay that focused and locked in, and I think it's a lesson that, um, people need to really start considering putting into place. I mean, I I'm not saying it's easy if you're used to having and I don't believe in ADD, adhd but that whole attention, um, inability that you feel like, or that maybe you've been told by some quack doctor somewhere that says do this, because it becomes an excuse. You know, I think that we all have the ability to give great attention to detail, but it's it's a matter of training, it's a matter of probably unlearning some behaviors.
Speaker 1:I yeah, for me it's always been the hardest part about anything is that everything's a muscle. Everything we build up tolerance, and the more tolerance we have, the more we can get done. So what I mean by that is exactly what you're saying hey, we're going to go through a workout and we're not going to scroll every single app, we're not going to do these activities, we're just going to sit here and just work out. Like I remember a couple of weeks ago I lost my headphones on a flight and I didn't get new headphones for like a month. And in that month I was at the gym and I'm like, oh my God, I'm not distracted, because when I wear my headphones I'm like listening to like a YouTube thing or like just prepping for different stuff, and I'm like my mind's not into it.
Speaker 1:And that's fine if you're on the Stairmaster, but it's different when you're going for, like a max bench or a squat, like you need to get in the zone. So it's just this idea of how do you build focus. So it's just this idea of how do you build focus. So for you I know you're doing a bunch of different activities how do you build focus for the audience?
Speaker 2:Well, I have a schedule. A lot of people don't have a schedule, and if you don't have a schedule, you won't be scheduled. If you don't have a plan, you have no plan. And so you mentioned blocking out time. Every moment of a day is blocked out, and so, like you mentioned, what can you achieve with great focus? And it's interesting because this year alone we've been able to construct three books and it was a quite an endeavor. But the only way to get that done was to set extreme focus on blocks of windows of times to where that's what we're doing and that's it. And it's just research, research, research. Putting together, writing it, looking at it, writing it, you know, redefining it, you know, looking for grammatical errors and content stuff. Does it flow, you know? And that that you can accomplish a lot more by that type of structure and planning and scheduling than you can just haphazard.
Speaker 1:And do you put time constraints? I mean, obviously you have the time constraints, but is it like hey, we're writing one chapter of the book or is it more of? Hey, we're just going to write for 10 pages and we see what happens? Which one is it more of of?
Speaker 2:hey, we're just going to write for 10 pages and we see what happens. Which one is it more of? Probably the, the, the time constraint? I would say I've got a goal, I'm gonna write one chapter and I want that to be done in two hours or whatever you know. And yeah, I'll say to it, you know, and if I finish early, I'm I'm good. You know, if I don't finish early, I'm going to go to the end. And if I reach the end and it's not done, well, okay, maybe I need to uh schedule under time to finish chapter one in that example.
Speaker 2:But I try to stay locked in because if you get off schedule, yeah, you know, it's just gonna be a domino effect and something's gonna get left, something's going to get dropped. As far as the attention you need to give to us, like when I'm dealing with clients or patients, whatever you want to call them um, you know they're going to get my undivided attention and I've said this to many people, thousands of people at that moment in time they're the most important person in the world right now to me and I'm going to show them that. And if I can't show them my care and show them my attention, why would they care what I think you know so, then I think it's probably just showing them some intentional love, if you will, and it's not just a person, it might be intentional love to a project or or a vision you have yeah, and it's absolutely.
Speaker 1:It's really hard to do the planning and action. So, like when I look at my life, you have to plan your life and you have to take action. The hard part is when do you plan and when do you take that action? Because you're sitting there constantly thinking about different variables, thinking about the future, thinking about where we're at currently, and it's how do we plan that time in so for you, what is the best time to plan for yourself? And then when do you?
Speaker 2:obviously you're executing most of the day, but how do you think about the planning in? Well, like, um, I start with scheduling, like with scheduling clients. I mean those things are scheduled out there three, four months. I mean that's. That's that angle. But as far as the rest of it goes, I look at it like used at the beginning of the week or two weeks before, and I say, okay, here's, I'm going to do this and I start putting on the schedule and so the schedule blends with perhaps different businesses we have. You know, I'm going to work on this, work on that, because things can blend together and you can't allow that to happen when you're working on a schedule. Now, everything does connect, there's no question. It's got to have a good flow to it. It's got to serve the good purpose interconnectedly and interrelatedly. But ultimately it's about staying focused and locked in to achieve the attention in each area that needs it with full capability instead of just partially.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, and I see that you're wearing a bracelet. Yeah, what's going on?
Speaker 2:with the bracelet. I've given these out for years. This is called a hope dealer bracelet a hope dealer.
Speaker 1:What's a hope dealer?
Speaker 2:well like we all know what a dope dealer is. You know they. They sort of get you something to get you hooked into, perhaps a drug. Yeah, it's very addictive. Well, if you flip the script, that's a negative addiction. But what if you could become addicted to giving hope?
Speaker 2:So, just feeling that out. That costs nothing for people. And what if that became the new contagion in our world? Hope, hope is what drives a person. People don't have hope. They don't really have a reason to live. What is the hope it's like? Hope for this, hope for that, hope that this will occur, hope that I will achieve this or whatever the case may be, hope that I will become a great husband, hope for a lady I'll become a great wife, the hope that I'll have family, the hope that I'll develop my business. You know, that is what drives the human, and without hope people really have nothing. Their heart is empty. And so, you know, the lack of hope is hopelessness, and I think people just hear that word and like, wow, that's kind of a downer. Well, I'm not saying we won't have issues and troubles and trials along the way, but if you can hang on to hope, it gives you a chance for another day.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and how hope can be shown in so many different ways and it can be so easy. So like when I think of that, I went on a run on Saturday morning and I, when I run to distract myself a little bit, I wave at each person, I say good morning. Sometimes I get a morning back, sometimes I get a blank face, sometimes I get a nothing. But my thought on it was if that person's having a really hard morning, if you just get one person to say hi to that and it's not even we're having a conversation, it's just morning. Morning like just that neighborly environment, environment you're getting that hope, energy. You know what I mean, that like there are nice people out here, someone will help me.
Speaker 2:This is good there, there is and and you mentioned the hope you're getting the hope energy. What happens with this? When you, when you give encouragement, when you are imparting or infusing someone else with courage, the magic happens, because, as you give, it spins back around and goes within you deep. And the same is true with hope. You give hope, you infuse someone with hope, you encourage them with hope. Well, that hope comes back to you multiple times over in your life. And so it really is this multiplying principle of what you give, you will get. And the same is true with anger or anger or something like that. It doesn't of what you give you will get. And the same is true with anger or anger or something like that. It doesn't matter what you give, you're going to get that back. And so, you know, hope is something that we're going to keep doing.
Speaker 2:And these bracelets I usually wear two, you know, but I gave one away recently we were at the restaurant and the waitress comes up and she was great I mean great, we've had her before at this one particular place to go to and she just started talking and she commented on the bracelets and and she goes oh well, that's cool. And I said, well, here you go, and she goes oh, you don't. I said it's fine, that's what I like to do, I like to give those out. She goes oh, I love this. And so even that moment in time for her, you never know what someone else is going through. You never know what they're struggling with or not struggling with. You never know what they need. And then she says these words I really needed this today, wow, and I thought, okay, that's cool.
Speaker 2:And then you know, one more quick story. We were in the islands of Aruba, you know, a few years ago, and there was a waiter there named Gregory, and he just seemed like a nice, you know, young guy and I just tried to encourage him, he had a good time, and we tipped him, well, you know. And then I gave him one of those bracelets and and we went back about I don't know. Two years later there's Gregory again and he comes up and has this story and and the story was so touching and I'll just keep it the very short version here for the sake of brevity. But so he comes up and he goes. You got to see this, he goes this brevity. But so he comes up and he goes. You got to see this, he goes.
Speaker 2:This is my uh wife's mother, or my mother-in-law her name is gregoria. Yeah, because you got to see this. I guess she was in a coma so she'd really had a struggle medically and uh, the picture of with with him kneeling by her bed praying for her and he goes look, and he was wearing that bracelet and I thought, wow, and he goes. I believe that hope got her through and she came out of the coma and she lived a whole nother year, which is fascinating, you know and and so he goes. I want you to know that. I appreciate that, so you never know what that can mean for somebody else. And that was just one example. And I'm not saying that because I'm good or anything. That's not the point. The point is every one of us listening to this podcast everyone in the sound of my voice can become a hope dealer. It costs nothing but returns everything I was just gonna say that.
Speaker 1:So, first off, thank you for sharing that, because you start to realize that if you give a bigger tip, cool, it's a monetary tip. The bracelets are probably you know what I mean minimal cost on them and it makes such a difference. One of the things I've really been enjoying doing with my clients recently is just sending them books, sending them random books, and it doesn't cost much, but it always it's that element of surprise, like no, you didn't just do, did you actually do that? Like? I went to a hotel last weekend for my wife's birthday. This guy gives me his hat. I go why are you giving me your hat? He's like. He's like cause the sun, you got to be protected and it was his business. He's like dude, I always give my hats away. Yeah, his business. He's like dude, I always give a hat's away. Yeah, and he's just like. It is what it is and now we're talking about it.
Speaker 1:But the whole idea here is that we're talking about hope dealing and at your business, you have eight areas. Four are controllable, four are uncontrollable. So what are some of those areas? And then, like, what are maybe some? Just, we want to give people hope in regard to the body, because the body people think, oh, I can only live to 77. After talking to Dr Mark, I might be staying, I might be living a little longer. So tell us a little about that.
Speaker 2:The expectation we have, probably in America, is not accurate and hopefully this will blow up somebody's assertions of that today because we need to change it. Remember, if the expectation is for you to jump this high, what can you achieve once you jump that high? Nothing, what's the point? So we've set our bar too low, and the bar always needs to be so high that we can't do it without some kind of internal strength or internal help or internal hope to drive us. Now, with that said, you mentioned the eight areas that we deal with. Four we have control over is nutrition, sleep, stress management and movement or exercise.
Speaker 2:People say, well, I don't have control. Yeah, you do. You have control over what you put in your mouth, what you put in your head, what you put in your heart, what you put in your ears. You have complete control over that. So don't say you don't. And then, certainly, we have a control over the decision on when we go to bed. We do, and we can say I've got too much to do. No, you don't, because you can't take time away from one of the greatest times of recovery, rehabilitation, regeneration, which is sleeping right, and it's not mean we sleep all day, that's not the point. But we need our adequate sleep to do recovery, to prepare us for what we're going to do the next day, and stress management is a no-brainer, in a sense that I like to define stress a different way than most do.
Speaker 2:I don't like the definition of stress as a noun. I do not believe it's a noun by very definition of a noun. It's not a person, place or thing, although there are person, place and things that can give us opportunity to react, respond in a way. But stress is a verb. It's an action or decision that you take or make in response to life's expected or unexpected occurrences. And if it's an action, that means you have a choice. It becomes a verb and so that verb action then becomes something you have control over. So those are the four areas we have control over to optimize life and then we don't have control of. We need to find someone to help us understand our own unique genetics, understand our own unique hormone presence with these chemical messengers, which we do, and then utilizing peptides, utilizing supplements properly as they fit into this whole approach we're talking about, of complete lifestyle adjustment.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. And the part you brought up about stress. I really enjoy that, because all I had going through my head was people going, I'm stressed, I'm stressed, and that's you identifying as something and a lot of us don't identify as I'm happy. I don't ever hear you saying that and that concerns me. That concerns me. So if you're listening to this, I really hope you start thinking about that when you go I am anxious or I am depressed. Start using the words of I'm happy, I'm excited, I'm pumped, and don't one side this like you're literally negative, siding it and you're taking a verb, as you said, or a feeling, and you're making it your identity, which just is not true.
Speaker 2:So I think we've got a problem. You know, when feelings lead the way, we've got a problem. We need to be very cautious of that and cautious of identifying, as you said. I echo that statement.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, Absolutely. So run us through, because I think most people might know about some of the controllables. But what's going on with some of these uncontrollables? What is going on with all these?
Speaker 2:Well, a lot of times we feel like that. We just, for example, are given a set of bad genes or whatever. That is not an accurate statement. The conventional thought process has done us a disservice. Frankly, it's lied to us because the genetics have changed a whopping 2% in 10,000 years. Based upon that, we can say that they're not the problem, because you go back 200 years, you didn't have the type 2 diabetes and all the Alzheimer's, dementia and cancers and autoimmune conditions, et cetera.
Speaker 2:Now the naysayers out there that probably are part of the problem would say well, you don't understand, mark, because people are living longer now and so the longer you live, the more diagnosis opportunity you have, and also we're getting better at diagnosis, fine, granted. However, you go back and look at, you know, seven, 800 years ago, maybe a thousand years ago, people were living longer than they are now. So we've had this, this curve of a dip, and I think the dip occurred probably back in the 17, 1800s as the world spread out and as sanitation became an issue, and we didn't have, you know, the current antibiotic therapy. I know people have mixed about that, but there was some blessing there in that we didn't have the diagnostic capability and the tools that we have now. So people are living longer again, but we're not living longer than we had before. So people are living longer again, but we're not living longer than we have before.
Speaker 2:Because of that, my statement goes well, it's not the genes, because the genes can't cause the problem. They are made to give you insight as to how to correct the problem. So the answer really lies in the environmental focus, then, and so environment actually interacts with the genes to create this epigenetic response, and that becomes the driving point. Let me look at it like this the genes are like a dam and a river, and the river's downstream of what's happening in your life. Well, what is the cause of flood?
Speaker 2:Is that the dam's fault? No, it's not the dam's fault. It's the reservoir's fault, because the reservoir came up too high. Because the reservoir came up too high and this is where we have a lot of things controllable in our sense to understand how your dam slash genes work. And if you understand that, then you know how to work the environment or the reservoir behind it to create a necessary flow down here, which is metabolism. So that's just one example of understanding how things fit together, and when you do that, it's a pretty smooth process and of course that's kind of our specialty, I would say.
Speaker 1:To link all this together, yeah, absolutely, Because, as I said, I've done over 250 podcasts. I've done a bunch of different stuff. Usually people touch on a topic or two, not encompassing all eight of them, because that does make a big difference. So if you were to dive in a little bit more, what's going on with the hormones, the peptides, supplements, Because I know those are probably the ones where people are like even me, I'm like I don't. Like I hear the words but I don't know what those mean. Like I'm not really sure, what does that mean?
Speaker 2:Well, let's start with supplements and kind of work backwards there. So supplements should supplement what a diet is not granting you or giving you. Now our diet has been if you're eating, well meaning eating foods from the natural sourcing, as opposed to not eating, well meaning eating foods that are processed, full of preservatives, chemicals, et cetera. You know standard American Western diet. You can't out-supplement that away. You can away. You cannot pray that away. You can't peel it away, you can't hormone it away, so forget it. You got to fix that Right. But when you eat well, because of the over processing of the earth and the processing of foods, you're still going to be short in certain nutrients and we need to bring in the certain micronutrients vitamins, minerals, amino acids, fatty acids at that point to complement, to give us a total picture of the nutrients we need to drive our systems. And so that's where supplementation fits in. And, generally speaking, I see people deficient in D, deficient in omega-3s, deficient in some B vitamins, magnesium very common, very common out there. So I will always start at those basics. So we've got to fight against the FOMO stuff out here that says you know, if you don't take the supplement, you may Well. That's a lie and that's a sales technique. So, understanding that there's a lot of charlatans out here, I call them. They're just selling you snake oil, and it may not be snake oil per se, that does nothing, but the application of same is not accurate as it fits into this totality of the circumstances here. Right?
Speaker 2:And so then you move forward into peptides. Peptides are not something mysterious, they're just chains of amino acids that the body already makes. So we already know amino acids are natural to the body. There are essential and there are non-essential ones. So this takes the structures of these amino acids and it just mimics what the body does. When you take in peptides, which are strands of amino acids less than 50, they actually do all kinds of really cool things like help you repair your vascular system, muscles, joints, tissues, brain, immune system, responsiveness, mitochondria, etc. So you can actually have more presence of these things later in life, therefore becoming younger in functionality or organ system functionality.
Speaker 2:And then you move to hormones. Hormones are out here bigger chains of amino acids more than 100, and they carry messages. So they're like emails and they're all sent from your master control center up here, the pituitary gland, and so the pituitary gland send these emails around it. So look at the body like a corporation, the pituitary being the CEO.
Speaker 2:If the CEO can't communicate to the divisions, we have a problem, and so hormones then are like communication devices, from the, the ceo, pituitary to a system with instructions to carry out, and the instructions is important. They can't be carried out unless the cells have proper micronutrients and oxygen. So it goes right back to that same thing and everything intertwines, and so, uh, hormones are becoming more of a player today, jordan, because we're seeing men get into the 30s and 40s that have lower testosterone than we've had in the last 700, or, you know, 70 years, and the ladies are reaching menopause faster, or perimenopause faster, because of the same problems, and so it's important to keep that in mind, to get those things back to more youthful levels, because it has been shown time and time again that people from more youthful levels of hormones do live longer.
Speaker 1:Wow, I was taking notes. Actually I'm typing this out because I'm sitting here and I'm like I've never heard it like that. It's pretty interesting. And when you sit there and you start to think about it, what would help people mostly? When should they come and start looking at these things? Is it at 18?, is it at 25?, is it at 40? Is it at 60? When do people start thinking about this?
Speaker 2:Right now because, ultimately, the information we have today is bountiful and plentiful. There's stuff out there everywhere. What is not out there everywhere is how do you sort that out and put it all together? As you mentioned earlier, there's a lot of information about certain topics, but the disconnect occurs because of the lack of connection of all these things. And again, we have kind of been some thought leaders out there and this is what we're doing obviously is not working because health is not where it should be.
Speaker 2:America, as a matter of fact, is in the worst health position that has ever been in the history of mankind's existence right now, and it really is. It's the most poor health From all the industrialized nations. We spend more per capita at $10,000 per family per year as opposed to other countries, but we get less return. So of all the industrialized nations, we're near the bottom in return. So you're spending more for this thing called healthcare and getting less health. So that tells me that healthcare does not care about your health, your health.
Speaker 2:So I'm like looking at this and if, if that was a business, that business has been failing for a number of years. It's time to change things around. It's like looking at the United States government. In a sense, they tell you how to that you should be saving money, but yet there are trillions of dollars in debt. So you've got to look. Look at it and go okay, if leadership tells you to do something that obviously does not work as per their own data.
Speaker 2:Yeah, probably time to look for new leadership. And in an oral world, I think a human being today, because of the ability and because of the availability of information, has the ability then to sort that out, analyze that, put that together in a nice wisdom manner and then execute a plan to make it work. And you know people like us. We're few and far between, but the more persons that get that together, like a Jordan, for example, the better you get this together, the more your people in your insurance, in your influence base, gets it too, because a teacher is only a good teacher If he teaches well enough for the student to become a teacher. And so we have taken that mentality on the last you know 15 years and try to become that.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, Because you start to realize that everyone can learn. So what are a few of the controllables that people can increase if they wanted to take action right now, today? What are some of the things I know you mentioned about nutrition getting the whole foods. Is there anything in regard to the sleep or the other areas?
Speaker 2:Yes, with sleep, there's some sleep hygiene protocols that I say people need to have. First of all, you need seven to eight hours period, regardless of your age If you're younger, obviously you might need more because we're growing right but sleep protocols meaning you've got to control the light. It's got to be dark, the temperature, it's got to be fairly cold, so the temperature needs to be probably somewhere around 65 to 67. The noise is a big thing, certainly, and so lighting is big from the standpoint of not just dark, but even if you have nightlights, nightlights need to be either yellow or red as opposed to white or blue, because the white or blue light is going to magnify like the sun. I mean the blue light that emits from the screens or cell phones and the television is equivalent of 5,500 Kelvin give or take, which is like the noonday sun, so it drives cortisol at night. So, and don't be afraid to get some of these, you know, when you're watching TV or something that is on my desk here, these are blue blocker glasses, right, and you can get those, and they work quite well to block out the blue. And then, obviously, don't be afraid to, you know, do a cold plunge or something like that before bed to calm the body down a bit, you know, and so those are good street sleep protocols. As far as what people can take, magnesium works outstanding, oh, wow.
Speaker 2:And then you look at, for example, like stress management I check people to one, define it as a verb, obviously analyze the situation, but work on breathing. You know pushing the breath downward, like diaphragmatic breathing. I learned that, you know, actually, when I was on the SWAT team. You know, pointing a sniper rifle at somebody, you better be calm, you better keep your heart rate down, you better keep the cortisol down so you can make good decisions and not become very overly reactive, right, so breathing becomes a very important thing.
Speaker 2:You know pushing the breath down, so when you inhale, the abdomen comes out and the other party doesn't move, and so those are things that people can do from exercise. It's super easy If you're not moving today, the first thing to do is create these short goals that are like failure proof. In other words, this week I'm going to walk 30 minutes total for the week, and so what does that mean? Five minutes a day, yeah, five minutes a day, and you've succeeded your goal and got it overdone by five minutes. So it's like start somewhere. Do not set these on daily goals, but set them on a weekly goal, so it makes it more achievable.
Speaker 1:A hundred percent. And even with the exercise one, we recently bought a, a walking treadmill. These things are like a hundred dollars on Amazon, yeah, walk with them. And like even my wife on Saturday morning I went on the run she's like I don't want to walk outside and see it, we're Florida, it's kind of hot. She's like I'm just going to walk on the treadmill for two miles and I'm like that's great, you don't sweat, nothing happens. Like it's just good for you, though we don't do that enough and we don't realize how to get our body in motion.
Speaker 1:I think one of the biggest travesties with that and we'll dive into the five pillars a little bit more but I think the biggest challenge with that is that everyone's like oh, you only need to work out three days a week. And it's like no, like how can anyone build a habit on three days a week? Like you just can't, and it's hard to do something three days a week. So it's like just do it all seven and you'll feel better. Like even if it's a walk, a long walk or something like the more consistency, because to build the habits is the hardest part. So it's how do you stay consistent? But with Edwards Consulting, we have five pillars mental health, physical health, community service, philanthropy, spirituality and relationships, and we've been asking each guest where they're at and how it kind of helps them. So for you, mark, what is your mental health like on a 1 to 10 today?
Speaker 2:Well, for me, I mean, I think everybody's got room for growth. Absolutely, I would give myself probably an eight, because 10 would be overly arrogant to say I've got it all figured out. No, you know, there's days, uh, jordan, where I'm like, you know, this is not very fun, or I'm having a hard time, or I'm dealing with life, or dealing with family stuff, or dealing with this or that, and it's going to happen. And so I'm always looking at this from the standpoint of what can I do better to keep my emotions not suppressed? Because I think emotions are beautiful. I think it's okay to get angry, it's okay to get sad, it's okay to get happy, it's okay to laugh, it's okay to cry, but they can't become the controlling forces of one's life. So I think there's always room for growth in that and as everything else, and and I try to like be an example in that, while while sharing, even within um, some painful moments at from time to time- Absolutely, and you start to realize.
Speaker 1:I think the biggest thing that I took from that is that it's okay to feel all these emotions and, you don't know, just have to be super stoic, right, a lot of men are because they're like I'm the leader of the family and it's like no, it's okay, it's okay to be upset, it's okay to be disappointed, it's okay to be this, like whatever feeling you have, because if we don't go through the range, then we limit the range on the upside too. We, we do.
Speaker 2:And I'm not one I've learned in my adult life here is I've grown older that men should learn to cry more. They should learn to laugh more. It doesn't indicate a weakness. That is quite the opposite, indicates strength. When you show vulnerability and you expose yourself, you expose the humanity that is. That is, and I think it builds a great bridge to connectivity and community when people see that, because they realize that you know I can trust this person, because they hurt sometimes too.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely. I appreciate you sharing that. Now, in regard to physical health, I mean, you look, you're looking good. What is your physical health on one to 10? What do you feel on?
Speaker 2:that Well, I'd probably go eight or nine again. I realized that, um, being in my sixties, I'm a little unique. I realized that and I I feel really blessed. But I've worked really hard and I'm not content in an unhealthy status. I'm always trying to improve. I'm always trying to do better. There's always opportunity to improve. You're never going to arrive, you just won't arrive. And so it's going through the life journey of you know, physical health. I'm going to exercise every day and I do. I don't take a day off. I don't believe that. I think that the only day you don't move is the day you're dead, and movement is life and lack of movement is rigor mortis. So I really think that we need to move. So, again, I don't never say that I've achieved it all. I can always do better and maybe that's better. Just with where I'm at now is preserving capital, you know, preserving capital of my physical. So so that.
Speaker 1:so that that's what I was going to kind of bring up is a lot of people don't realize. But it's not, let's say, let's say Mark's original goal, Cause when a lot of people are working out, their original goal is I can bench the most weight. You start to change the parameters, which leads to different key performance indicators. So now it's not hey, I'm not working out to be the strongest guy, I'm working out for longevity, and longevity means I just have to maintain my muscle, which means that I don't have to break it and risk injuring myself where for six months I might not be able to lift anything. So that becomes an awareness piece that a lot of people don't realize, because it takes a lot of time to redefine what this new version of yourself is. But I think that's why it's so important.
Speaker 2:A hundred percent. You know, like when I'm looking at my training arrangement, I write it down, I have a plan, but I don't go for the maximum repetitions ever again. I don't, because I realized that's probably ego talking. Yes, my tendons, the tensegrity of my tendons and things like that are not what they once were. So I have to shift that lower end of repetition range probably to between six and eight and not go below that, because it becomes something of a foolish endeavor at that point. But even within that higher repetition range I can still get stronger. Within that Of course we can, and I articulate that in my documentation. So I'll use this that might be my lower end six to 10, and my my medium end might be 15 to 17 and my upper end might be more than 20. And there's days where I will do that. So I will alternate those styles between week to week so that I'm not just training perhaps fast twitch muscles, only I'm getting into slow twitch.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's super important. It's super important, so I appreciate that. The next one's an interesting one. Some people are in it, some people aren't. Community service on a one to 10. How do you feel about that?
Speaker 2:I think it's just it's giving back. Yes, Jordan, we've done nights of empowerments here as a three or four annual type of events where we bring in the community. We rent out a ballroom at a nice hotel in the Tulsa area and feed people and present them with something someone wants. Sometimes we'll bring in a speaker, sometimes we won't, sometimes we'll do it just ourselves. But those are giving back to our community and I think giving back like that with this is kind of key, without expecting something in return, is probably a key thing, you know.
Speaker 2:And so when you give, like that community service, whether actions or monetary things or your giftings, your hands are open. Like you're giving, you're giving. And I've learned that if you keep your hands open to give, your hands are open also to receive and then receive. You give them, receive a given, so you don't hang on to this thing called finances with the tent to just build a bigger barn and build a bigger house. You have to be wise enough to not give it all away, but wise enough also, at the same time, to not hold on to it.
Speaker 1:Yes, absolutely. And I have a uh. I recently knew a client he basically does fitness coaching and he was telling me about how he wanted to get back to a rehab center because he started getting into he. He, he's been clean for a number of years and he was like I should do this, I'm like that's interesting. And then he, uh, he's like, yeah, like I'm just not making the money so I can't donate to them, so I'm not sure how I'm gonna do this. And I go, dude, what helped you get through rehab? And he goes my physical fitness and I go, great, why don't you teach a workout class? And then he goes my physical fitness and I go, great, why don't you teach a workout class? And then he goes, calls the guy and he's like, yeah, I'm going to do this.
Speaker 1:And then he started to realize that the guy's like, yeah, you should pitch all your businesses, pitch all the stuff you do to these guys because they need it. And he was like, oh my God, now I have a lead source and I'm related to them. And like we both have the same challenges. I was like, yeah, bro, like you just got to put yourself out there with the, with the resources and the things you have, because it's more valuable. Like you, handing out those hope dealer things are probably more valuable than writing these people donations, like you know what I mean, cause it's so much more, it gives so much more. So there's two more pillars. We're almost, we're always there.
Speaker 2:Relationships yeah, we're always there. Relationships yeah, my primary relationship for me is God. So I am a person of faith. I don't push my beliefs on anybody else, I just express love towards everyone so people can believe what they want. And then, right behind us, my wife. There's not a week that goes by that I don't have a date night with her. Okay, how busy we are. I think that's very important. So the prioritization of relationships is spending time with those priorities in those relationships, and so I think that's really important, and so I'm big on that.
Speaker 2:And you know, I really think it's good to not to understand this principle with your relationships. There are people that you let in close to you, but they need to fit on this hand, you know, like, in other words, you don't have a responsibility to open your whole life up to everybody. You just don't. Sometimes we're told well, the more open and honest you are, the better that is, but people will run over that and they can't handle that and they're not supposed to handle that. So they're not supposed to handle that.
Speaker 2:So if they're not supposed to handle something, why are you giving it to them? You know, why are you giving them more than they're supposed to and it doesn't allow for proper concentric circles of relationships. Or sometimes people are close, you know you're three or four close friends, and then it gets outside of that, a little bit closer but not quite as close, and then those out. So the relationship circles, if you will, it is really important to clearly define and uh, and don't spread yourself too thin with relationships, because those relationships uh are are not meant to be that close to some of those people, some people you love from a further distance than you do others.
Speaker 1:I think that's so important. And the other big thing is you don't always have to share, like you were saying, and sometimes a vulnerable share might be like I just had, like I was telling people that you were coming on the podcast. That's a vulnerable share. It's not really vulnerable, but it's like, hey, you guys are going to see it, but it's a good conversation starter. So it's how do you be vulnerable without, like, really sharing everything? And some people need some help with that. Absolutely the last pillar is spirituality. So when did you start getting into that and has that always been something present in your life?
Speaker 2:Probably. You know I live in the Midwest, you know it's the old, perpetual, defined Bible belt, and so I was raised, you know, said to speak before. I've never had a drug problem, but I didn't have a drug problem because I was drugged to church all the time, you know. And so it was just there all the time and I I really wanted to understand what it all meant. You know, and um, early on in life, I was curious. You know, um, who made the world? Who made me? How am I made? How does this all work? Man?
Speaker 2:It takes a lot of faith to believe that two um rocks collided one day and became an amoeba and the amoeba eventually, swimming around the water that was just kind of just showed up too, and the amoeba eventually grew uh legs and the amoeba was able to swim through the water and grow legs to get on the land. The land then became something that me walked on and became a worm, and then the worm eventually grew some hair and climbed a tree and that person in the tree became one day decided to shave the hair and get a lunch pail and go to work. That's a story that I just. It just didn't make any sense and I want to understand creation and you know humanity and just people better. And I just started asking myself these questions and you know, I always believe in the principle if you, if you, seek truth, you'll find it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, looking, and so for me it was a perpetual endeavor, just looking for truth. And am I still curious about things? Yeah, I am. I don't think I've got it figured out because life is not a straight line. Yeah, so I'm still looking, I'm still trying to define you know what life looks like. I'm still working on my spirituality, the essence of who I am, to understand better absolutely.
Speaker 1:I love that because it makes it more of a journey and it's not like you have to do this or that, but you can find it wherever you want to find it and whatever is best for you. So we're getting to the end. Where can people learn more? No, before we do that one no, this was a really interesting one. We talked about our organs in the pre-call. How long should organs be living for? And then we'll close it out.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think that if you look at it from two principles, you have biblical texts you've got as a goal. Some people go well, I believe the Bible, okay, fine, if you believe that the definition there is 120 years.
Speaker 2:But if you don't believe that and you say well, I don't believe that I'm going to trust what I know to be quote unquote science. Well, science tells you a story as well. The oldest person that ever lived is a lady named jean calmet, who lived in, I believe, england, and she lived at 122. Oh wow, oldest person alive right now at present the last I checked as of two weeks ago is living in japan at 118. So the history tells us a story as well, to unravel this mystery. So I believe, believe in both aspects probably about 120 years.
Speaker 2:And the analogy is the old car. You know, if you care for a car that was, say you know, made in 1920, that car, as you get to 2020, 100 years later, it might look the same, it might be a little older comparably, but if you took good care of it, it'll still run, it still looks pretty cool and it increases in value. How about that? Because that car has been through a lot of things, a lot of stories. So I believe humanity is like that too. It increases in value, it increases in wisdom based upon experience, and so I just, I just believe that that's something we need to set our bar high for, and not that we're not going to live that long, but we need to expect the organ system to last that long, and that makes you start to realize that if you think you're going to die at 80, there might be another 50% more years to go, which now you're planning for a different thing.
Speaker 1:You're going to get a different result. Absolutely so, mark, where can people learn more about you? Where can they learn more about the Institute and really appreciate the time?
Speaker 2:Oh my goodness. Yes, of course they can go to Sherwood TV right there and I think on that homepage there's a place they can even download a free gift from us. It's a free e-book that is on hope, health and freedom, and it's a really nice e-book that my wife and I wrote. We've got several, but I like this one a lot because it sort of talks about all these pillars we're talking about one of them we mentioned and gives the practical tips in there. So it's a great handbook to get started on everything and there's a bunch of resources books, movies, tv, stuff that we've done and still do, so they can get that as well. Or people want to work with us? Of course they can. Absolutely. Thank you.
