i met the oldest person in the world today. here’s what he told me about how to live a long, healthy life (tldr at the end): josé flores was born on July 11, 1907, he is 119 years old. “what's the secret to living 119 years?”, i asked him… “trabajo!” (work) up until a few years ago, José was still on his farm, planting crops and chopping brush with a machete. in Japan, they call this Ikigai (生き甲斐), a word meaning “a reason for being.” It is well known to be associated with longevity across many cultures. (pmid 19539820) his lifestyle defies most mainstream longevity ideas... -he doesn't fear the sun. He works in it daily. -he eats meat every single day: beef, fish, or chicken, & organs like heart and liver. nothing from the animal is wasted. (large population studies corroborate the strong, consistent association between animal food consumption and longevity. (pmid 35228814)) -he eats local foods & doesn’t fear natural sugars. Fruit, vegetables, milk, and honey. -he cooks with animal fats and adds these to staples like rice and beans. lard, tallow, and butter. he doesn’t fear saturated fat, nor do most in this nicoya region of costa rica. -he doesn't drink coffee (!) , but he loves young coconut water & agua dulce- a juice made from sugar cane. -he plays dominoes every day with his family and visitors to keep his mind sharp. the formula for maxing out your genetic longevity potential doesn’t have to be complex or cost thousands of dollars: i. eat unprocessed food. single ingredient foods (meat, plants, with no ingredient labels) for >95% of meals. ii. find a purpose, and work toward it daily. iii. get outside. don't fear the sun. moderate exposure is associated with longevity in many studies (PMID 26992108) iv. stay close to your people. the people you care about are critical to the formula. Protect that community. a large study from Harvard found that meaningful community was the strongest predictor of longevity. (PMID 31495897) v. don't take life too seriously. Laugh as much as possible. everyone I have met in my exploration of longevity (ikaria, sardinia, nicoya, switzerland…) who was aging well had an easy sense of humor and smiled + laughed often. tldr: longevity doesn’t have to be as complicated as it’s made out to be. high food quality with animal foods moderate sunlight movement purpose community eat food for humans, live like a human, & thrive. we all have a genetic longevity potential, this is how you maximize it.