Start Here: The Funspan Formula — My Framework for Training, Longevity, and Joy.
If you’re new here, this post is the foundation of everything. It’s the philosophy behind Funspan — how biology, passion, relationships, and psychology work together for fulfillment and longevity.
There’s more health and happiness self-help info out there than ever — and most of it is confusing or contradictory. Every week there’s a new diet, a new study, a new guru yelling at you to train harder or eat cleaner.
That’s why I think values and community are more important than ever.
For me, it all boils down to something I call Funspan — living a long, healthy life where I’m also fulfilled and having fun. That means training metabolism and endurance… but also relationships, type 2 fun, and a finish-line beer.
PRs are fun, but I won’t get paid for winning races — and even pros question whether it’s worth it. So everything I do is in service of Funspan — including eating pizza:
It’s also about community — finding and engaging in a group of people who share those values. That’s why I’m so stoked you’re here! Odds are, you like moving your body outside (sometimes for a long time) and prioritizing your health and happiness over extrinsically motivated metrics… SAME! Let’s talk about it, share notes, and meet up for a coffee or long run.
To kick things off, I wanted to give you a little Funspan toolkit. Below you’ll find the Funspan Formula and Essentials… this is the foundational model through which I view living a fulfilled life, and my favorite podcasts and books that fit into it.
Funspan = Biology × Passion × Relationships × Psychology
Here’s what each variable means:
Biology: Your operating system. Optimize metabolism + inflammation through endurance training, sleep, nutrition, stress management, strength, etc. These are the levers that keep your system running for decades.
Passion: Your ignition source. Energy begins within — confidence comes from action. Align work with play, treat curiosity as practice, and create to integrate meaning. This keeps you lit up day-to-day.
Relationships: Your amplifiers through sharing life. Love, partnership, family, community — they compound joy. And your relationship with yourself is the foundation.
Psychology: Your steering wheel. Mindset determines how you use the other three. Presence, stoicism, gratitude, agency, and compassion keep you aligned and make the ride enjoyable.
As a primer, here are my favorite materials that led me along each of these paths. These are all zero or very low cost resources:
Biology
The Drive with Peter Attia — a scientifically rigorous podcast detailing the biochemistry of exercise, pharmacology, and more… my favorites are with Inigo San Millan (Zone 2 and the mitochondria) and Rick Johnson (the metabolism of sugar).
FoundMyFitness with Rhonda Patrick — another deep-dive biology podcast detailing supplements, nutrition, etc. My favorite discusses aerobic training and the cardiovascular system with Ben Levine.
The Huberman Lab — surely you know this one… my favorite details the daily circadian rhythm and interventions to optimize your cortisol cycle.
Passion
The Almanack of Naval Ravikant — a philosophical guide to life that largely influenced my Funspan ideology, with particular focus on using passion to create wealth.
Fearsetting and Dreamlining by Tim Ferriss — both worksheets to inspire thinking about what you want, and breaking down the barriers holding you back. I also highly recommend The Four Hour Workweek by Tim.
The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron — a workable guide to exploring possible lives, pursuits, and passions by unblocking your creativity.
The War of Art by Steven Pressfield — a guide to unblocking and taking away the excuses keeping you from doing the thing.
Relationships
Liz Gilbert on the Tim Ferriss Podcast — my favorite podcast of all time, exploring unconditional love and relationships with self and others.
Anything by Esther Perel — a psychologist who works in couple’s therapy, who shares her work around finding and investing in intimate relationships.
Ugh, Love by Jessa Reed — a very woo-woo (just approach it as comedy), but incredibly practical and hilarious guide to intimate, and friend and family relationships.
Psychology
Waking Up by Sam Harris — the first important book I ever read, as a plebe at West Point. It’s an introduction to mindfulness and spirituality without religion.
The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holliday — my father’s favorite daily reading. Quick, digestible thoughts to entrench stoic philosophy into your mindset toolkit.
Atomic Habits by James Clear — an incredibly useful guide to identity, work, and habit-building that can be put to use in daily life.
Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl — a psychotherapists guide to meaning, told through his experience as a Jew surviving the Holocaust camps.
The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz — if you only read or listen to one thing on this whole list… this is it. Just trust me on this one.
I’ll leave it there for now…
My hope is that you get so much more out of being in this community than you put in. Again, thanks for being here. I’m so psyched to learn, share, and have some fun together.
If you haven’t yet, you can join the newsletter here to get the Funspan Formula toolkit and weekly notes.
Join me on Strava, Instagram, and check out my coaching website. Or don’t. That’s cool, too.
With love,
Jack
P.S…
For long-run motivation, coffee recommendations, or tips on how to build the perfect PB and J, feel free to text me: 312-914-1773