Man 2.0 Engineering the Alpha

fighting disease and improving longevity. For those who are active—as we recommend—intermittent fasting will enhance everything you do in the gym.
    We know that letting go of your previously held beliefs can be difficult. And we acknowledge that for some people, it can take seven to ten days to adjust to an intermittent fasting schedule. But once you find a pattern that works for your lifestyle, you’ll see that you’ll never have to search for another diet again.

CHAPTER 8
    The Road to Alpha Status
    EATING, TRAINING, AND BUILDING THE BODY OF A GOD
    “I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games; 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
    — MICHAEL JORDAN
    T he best thing that ever happened to you was failure. This isn’t another one of our jokes. This is real. Although frustrating, it’s good that you’ve struggled in your goal to get the body you want, have been pissed off by bad diets, and might genuinely consider this your last-ditch effort to see if exercise really works.
    We’re okay with that. It’s not that we want you to struggle, suffer, and become cynical. And while we certainly feel bad for those people who have been plagued by decades of frustration (you younger readers have trodden through less crap), we do know that these struggles were essential if you truly are to achieve an unreal life and an awesome body. That’s because it’s a necessary part of your journey and may be the most integral part to achieving Apotheosis.
    The sixth stage of the Hero’s Journey is the Road of Trials. One could argue that this is the most important phase because it is here that you will receive the knowledge and experience necessary to reach your ultimate goals. It’s the process of earning your stripes, proving your keep, and being able to learn by doing—and occasionally failing—that has the most value. And now that you’ve spent time learning why everything works, now you can begin to take action.
    As a phase, the Road of Trials serves as a series of tests that the hero must face to prepare him for the final challenge. But it’s not all about beating the game or saving the princess—as we’ll cover soon, the tests are a necessary step in the hero’s development, preparing him for life after the challenge. The exposure to the tests—and both succeeding and failing—will teach him about the world and himself. The successes will allow him to keep moving forward on his journey. But the failures specifically are what will instruct him of his flaws, make him aware of his weaknesses, and spark a deeper drive to succeed.

    FINDING THE EYE OF THE TIGER
    Your tests started before you picked up this book. While not directly in order of the Hero’s Journey, all those frustrations led you here. And it’s a good thing you’re here now because what you’ll find in this section and beyond will lead to dramatic changes you wouldn’t find unless you were placed in this situation. So if you never struggled, you’d never be able to open your eyes to what is really possible. And that’s why your prior failures will ultimately be the spark that triggered your future success.
    This concept is a mainstay of nearly every great story. Whether it’s played out on a screen, on a page, or even in a video game. Looking at ancient mythology, Odysseus had to go through ten years of hell and endless obstacles to reach his final destination. King Arthur had to repeatedly overcome obstacles in his ascent to royalty and then in the quest of the Holy Grail. Even Link from The Legend of Zelda was constantly fighting increasingly difficult challenges to save Princess Zelda and her kingdom.
    We could also look at sports and movies, but in the interest of brevity, we’ll look at the best of both and examine sports movies, in particular the Rocky films. Choose any of those movies and you’ll find instances of the Road of Trials. But maybe the most prominent is Rocky III . (It’s also the first time in the series that Sly really gets shredded for his role—and it marks the birth of the “Eye of the Tiger.”)
    In this film, the movie opens with Rocky destroying everyone he fights. Only it turns out that these were handpicked opponents who wouldn’t really challenge the aging fighter. In many ways, this opening holds the most importance for you.
    In life, we like to find