Life Force, by Tony Robbins, Peter Diamandis, & Robert Hariri

Why this book: I’ve always been interested in optimizing health and fitness and a good friend of mine’s wife strongly recommended this book. I looked up reviews, and though I was a bit skeptical of Tony Robbins as a health guru, the reviews looked promising so I decided to give it a try. Really glad I did.

Summary in 4 sentences:  Tony Robbins in conjunction with two of the most highly respected doctors in researching longevity and wellness put together a compendium of the latest research in long term health optimization, disease prevention, repairing of organs, muscles and other damaged parts of the body, and the latest research in almost anything else that may be common causes of sub-optimal health, fitness and well being. He gives separate chapters to different areas of concern, but what is most exciting and impressive is that he outlines the current (as of 2022) state of research into stem cell and other regenerative therapies that promise to extend not only life but wellness well past current norms. While he continues to stress the foundational requirements of optimal health – exercise, nutrition, sleep, and stress management – he also offers options and strategies to almost exponentially magnify the benefits of these basic good health practices with various bio-hacks, some of which are easily available to everyone, some of which are rather esoteric.  He concludes with classic Tony Robbins appeal to positive thinking and belief in oneself and one’s own responsibility and power to optimize one’s own health and life. 

My Impressions:  Life Force provides a fascinating look behind the curtain of what bio-medical research is exploring for means of optimizing health, recovery, and wellness into the future.  I’ve recommended this book to several friends, each of whom I would grade is much healthier and more fit than the norm for their age, and each of whom thanked me for the recommendation and are taking action based on the recommendation in this book. Some of what he describes in the means for  regenerative health and fitness seems almost like science fiction, but, he tells us – no this is real, and these therapies will be available within a few short years. Ray Kurzweil who wrote and reads one of the chapters, says that if we can stay alive and healthy for a few more years, he expects there will be therapies and bio-hacks available that will then keep us alive and healthy for many more decades to come.

I chose to listen to this book, but partway through, I decided to buy a copy, since it contains so much information that I couldn’t absorb listening to it, and I wanted to be able to review it in hard copy.  Tony Robbins himself reads the first and last chapters, a designated reader reads most of the chapters, and then a couple of chapters are written and read by experts who he called upon to contribute to the book. This book is clearly a collaborative effort with Doctors Peter Diamandis and Robert Hariri clearly contributing their extensive knowledge in molecular genetics and cellular biology, as well as Ray Kurzweil, one of he world’s specialists in longevity research. Many other experts were consulted and their inputs are included – many of the best known names in health and wellness optimization.

Tony supports his points with many examples from his own life, and the experiences of people he’s met and worked with over the years.  One key message of this book – do not automatically trust your doctor.  Do your own research.  While he shows respect for doctors, he emphasizes that they are human, each is limited in their own experience and perspective, and if your health and wellness are at stake, you MUST get multiple opinions and make your own decisions. Don’t outsource decisions on your health and wellness to a single medical professional.  They may not know of the latest research, and they can be and often are wrong in their diagnoses and treatments. 

Life Force is written for the layman and it is easy and enjoyable to follow, though there were a few sections that had some details about molecular biology that were beyond my ability to fully grasp.  But I was able to easily get the point, even if I didn’t fully understand the mechanisms.  I looked forward to my listening sessions, as they were full of amazing information that is relevant to me and my life. Even the sections which may not apply to me, like breakthroughs in treatment of stroke victims, were fascinating.

I perhaps more than most have given attention and priority to long term health, wellness and fitness and I learned many things from this book that I didn’t know. Regarding longevity, I wrote a blog a few years ago that even then stressed that average life and health span are increasing, and that research is advancing rapidly to significantly increase life and health span in the not-too-far-distant future.   Life Force is an update to what I had learned then and so much more. I’d recommend this book to anyone who is willing to take extra steps to enhance their wellness and fitness and increase their life and health span.  

Perhaps the best summary of the scope of this book is to provide a list of the chapters.  

Introduction

Section 1: The Life Force Revolution

• Chapter 1: Life Force: our Greatest Gift
• Chapter 2: The Power of Stem Cells
• Chapter 3: Diagnostic Power: breakthroughs that Can Save your life
• Chapter 4 Turning Back Time: Will Aging soon be Curable?

Section 2 Heroes of the Regenerative Medicine Revolution

• Chapter 5: The Miracle of Organ Regeneration
• Chapter 6: The MightyCAR T cell: A Breatk through Cure for Leukemia
• Chapter 7: Incision-less Brain Surgery: The impact of Focused Ultrasound
• Chapter 8: Gene Therapy and CRISPR: The Cure for Disease
• Chapter 9: The Wondrous Wnt Pathway: The ultimate Fountain of Youth?

Section 3: What You Can Do Now

• CHapter 10 Your Ultimate Vitality Pharmacy
• Chapter 11: Living Pain Free
• Chapter 1: The Longevity Lifestyle and Diet
• Chapter 13: The Power of SLeep the Third Pillar of Health
• Chapter 14: Strength, Fitness & Performance: Your Quick Guide to Maximum Results
• Chapter 15: Beauty: Enhancing your Visible Health and Vitality

Section 4: Tackling the top 6 Killers

• Chapter 17: How to Mend a Broken Heart
• Chapter 18: Your Brain: Treating Strokes
• Chapter 19: How to Win the War on Cancer
• Chapter 20: Conquering Inflammation and Autoimmune Disease: Bringing Peace to the Body
• Chapter 21: Diabetes and Obesity: Defeating a Double Threat
• Chapter 22: Alzheimer’s Disease: Eradicating the Beast

Section 5 Longevity Mindset, and Fulfillment

• Chapter 23: Longevity and the Power of Exponential Technologies
• Chapter 24: Creating an Extraordinary Quality of Life: the Power of Mindset
• Chapter 25 The Power of Decision: the Gift of Living in a Beautiful State

Your 7 Step Action Plan for Lasting Results

End Credits