Making $100 Million A Year Eating Raw Liver: Liver King
Liver King (Brian Johnson) shares his ancestral lifestyle, emphasizing nine core tenets for optimal health and fulfillment. He discusses overcoming hardship, practicing extreme ownership, and prioritizing real-world connection to combat modern societal suffering.
Deep Dive Analysis
17 Topic Outline
Early Childhood: Joy and Loss
Middle School Bullying and Finding Strength
The Genesis of Liver King: From Brian to Primal
The Importance of Extreme Ownership and Accountability
Nine Ancestral Tenets: Combating Modern Suffering
Lessons from Primitive Culture Tribes
Liver King's Sleep Philosophy and Practices
Critique of Modern Diet and Family's Health Transformation
The Crisis of Loneliness and the Power of Bonding
Optimism for Ancestral Living and Social Media Impact
Addressing Criticism and Joe Rogan's Comments
Overcoming His Son's PANDAS Diagnosis
Liver King's Ancestral Business Empire
The Barbarian: A Modern Rite of Passage
Relationship with Liver Queen and Monogamy
Liver King's Secret Battle with Public Speaking Anxiety
A Primal Act: Sharing Raw Liver
5 Key Concepts
Ancestral Lifestyle
A way of living that mirrors the practices of hunter-gatherer forebears, believed to be consistent with human DNA and genetic coding. It emphasizes a return to fundamental human behaviors and nutrition for optimal health and well-being.
Nine Ancestral Tenets
A comprehensive framework for optimal human health and well-being, encompassing sleep, eat, move, shield, connect, cold, sun, fight, and bond. All these factors are believed to collectively impact hormones and neurochemistry, shaping how individuals look, feel, and function.
Primal Potential
The belief that every individual is born wild, free, and undomesticated, possessing an inherent capacity to achieve anything. This authentic self is often suppressed by societal norms and conformity, but can be unleashed through challenging experiences.
PANDAS (Pediatric Autoimmune Neurological Disorder Associated with Streptococcal infections)
A condition characterized by the manifestation of severe obsessive thoughts, where children are consumed by repetitive questions or screaming. Conventional prognosis is often poor, with typical treatments involving medication for sedation.
The Barbarian
A modern-day rite of passage created by Liver King, involving carrying 70-pound kettlebells in each hand, a 70-pound backpack, 120 pounds on a sled, and 20-pound ankle weights for one mile. It is designed to push individuals beyond their physical limits to discover inner strength and capability.
13 Questions Answered
Liver King grew up with a tough mom and an older brother, experiencing a joyful childhood filled with sports and activities, feeling life was 'perfect' until around age 10.
From ages 10 to 14, he was severely bullied and felt like he was living in 'hell.' This experience, combined with starting to lift weights, taught him to control outcomes and eventually led him to find respect and a way to fit in, forging him into the 'unrelenting evolutionary hunter' he is today.
His extreme drive has led to an obsession with controlling outcomes, causing him to spend three to four hours in the gym daily and sometimes struggle with leaning on other people, though he now values teamwork.
He believes taking extreme ownership and responsibility is essential for self-made individuals to move from dependence to independence and interdependence, contrasting it with those who make excuses and suffer passively.
He attributes these issues to a multifactorial abandonment of the nine ancestral tenets (sleep, eat, move, shield, connect, cold, sun, fight, bond), which collectively impact hormones and neurochemistry.
Liver King observes that these tribes are visibly happy and fulfilled, naturally adhering to the ancestral tenets by connecting with the earth, getting ample sun, bonding, and eating whole, unprocessed foods, seemingly without modern ailments like depression or infertility.
He sleeps on wooden planks with a thin wool mat to increase mobility requirements (getting up and down), avoid off-gassing from modern mattresses, and prevent metal springs from conducting ambient EMF electricity, promoting deeper parasympathetic sleep.
He believes modern society has abandoned the ancestral practice of eating the whole animal nose-to-tail, instead consuming processed foods, vegetable seed oils, and liquid calories, leading to poor health and a lack of vitality.
After conventional medicine offered only medication, he and his wife removed all processed foods, seed oils, and liquid calories from his diet, introducing nose-to-tail, wild-caught, organic foods. They also removed 100% cacao chocolate and raw honey, leading to significant improvement within days.
Bonding is crucial for purpose, survival, and thriving, as seen in primitive cultures. Modern society has gone wrong by excessive screen time, leading to loneliness, sedation, and a loss of genuine human connection and conversation.
He views it positively as an opportunity to engage deeper with his message and correct self-limiting beliefs. He believes his lifestyle, based on the nine ancestral tenets, allows for peak natural performance, and he desires a face-to-face conversation to address such claims.
He models affection, tells them he loves them nightly, and doesn't hide arguments or make-ups with Liver Queen. He emphasizes feeling and expressing genuine emotions, encouraging them to be authentic rather than suppressing feelings.
He was 'rich and anonymous' before social media and was 'completely terrified of public speaking,' to the point of it being crippling, where words wouldn't come out. He pushed past this fear to spread his ancestral message, believing it was his job.
24 Actionable Insights
1. Embrace Hardship for Growth
Actively seek out and embrace difficult life moments and rites of passage, as these challenges are crucial for forging character and developing your best qualities. This self-discovery allows you to realize your full capabilities and potential.
2. Choose Active Over Passive Suffering
Recognize that suffering is inevitable; choose to actively suffer by putting in the work to grow and improve, rather than passively enduring conditions that lead to a less fulfilling life. This proactive approach leads to personal progress and happiness.
3. Practice Extreme Ownership
Take full responsibility for your actions and avoid making excuses, as this fosters insight and sets a positive example for others. This mindset is crucial for personal leadership and shaping the life you desire.
4. Undertake Modern Rite of Passage
Engage in a physically demanding challenge, such as ‘The Barbarian’ (carrying heavy weights for a mile), with an unwavering commitment to completion. This process helps you discover your true capabilities and transforms your self-belief.
5. Respond to Crisis with Action
In times of crisis, move past feelings of helplessness or guilt and immediately take massive, iterative action to identify and implement solutions. Continuously course-correct until the problem is resolved, demonstrating resilience and determination.
6. Become Ideal Partner’s Equal
To attract and maintain a high-quality relationship, continuously invest in yourself and strive to become the highest, most dominant version of yourself across all aspects (physical, social, emotional, mental, spiritual). This holistic self-improvement helps you attract a complementary partner.
7. Sustain Attraction in Relationships
Continuously strive to express your highest physical form to maintain attraction and passion within a long-term relationship. This commitment to self-care is a way to honor yourself and your partner, preventing complacency.
8. Prioritize Patience Over Efficiency
Avoid sacrificing patience and grace in the name of time efficiency, as this can lead to being perceived negatively and compromise important relationships. Cultivate more grace to improve interactions and maintain strong bonds.
9. Stand Up For Yourself
It’s crucial to push back and fight for yourself, even if it means risking looking foolish or like an ‘asshole.’ Not doing so can lead to prolonged suffering and a lack of self-respect.
10. Start Day with Hardest Task
Begin your day by tackling the most challenging task, as successfully completing it can make everything else feel easier and build mental resilience. This practice sets a tone of accomplishment and ease for the rest of your day.
11. Adopt a Nose-to-Tail Diet
Prioritize eating the whole animal, including nutrient-dense organs like liver and bone marrow, and eliminate processed foods, seed oils, and liquid calories. This ancestral eating pattern can profoundly improve health and well-being.
12. Optimize Sleep with Natural Cues
Finish eating 3-4 hours before bed, get early morning sun exposure daily, observe the sunset, and block artificial blue light in the evenings. These practices regulate your circadian rhythm and significantly improve sleep quality.
13. Shield from Non-Native Signals
Minimize exposure to non-native EMFs by keeping cell phones out of pockets, using airplane mode while sleeping, and turning off Wi-Fi routers at night. Additionally, avoid petrochemical clothing and xenoestrogen-laden perfumes to protect your endocrine system.
14. Connect with the Earth (Grounding)
Regularly connect your bare feet to the earth, as primitive cultures do, to benefit from the earth’s natural negative charge. This simple practice supports overall well-being and re-establishes a primal connection.
15. Prioritize Real-World Bonding
Limit screen time and actively engage in face-to-face conversations and group activities to foster genuine connection, chemistry, and culture. This is essential for combating loneliness and achieving fulfillment.
16. Maintain Natural Mobility
Incorporate daily movements that challenge mobility, such as full squats, to retain physical function and prevent loss of range of motion as you age. This keeps your body adaptable and strong like our ancestors.
17. Express Love Physically and Verbally
Consistently express love to your children through physical affection (e.g., big hugs) and verbal affirmations (e.g., ‘I love you’) to ensure they genuinely feel cherished. This modeling teaches them how to express emotions authentically.
18. Go Far With a Team
While individual drive is important for speed, building an interdependent and synergistic culture and working as a team allows you to go further and achieve more significant goals. Collaboration amplifies collective potential.
19. Control Outcomes via Strength Training
Engage in strength training to gain a sense of control over your physical outcomes, which can translate into greater self-respect and the ability to navigate difficult life situations. This physical discipline builds mental fortitude.
20. Quarterly Five-Day Fast
Engage in a five-day water-only fast once a quarter, abstaining from workouts during this period, to achieve heightened mental clarity and reset your system. This practice can profoundly impact brain function and overall well-being.
21. Focus on Improvement, Not Apologies
When making mistakes, cultivate the insight to acknowledge them and commit to getting better, rather than just offering a superficial apology. This actionable form of accountability drives genuine progress.
22. Dedicate Time to Partner Connection
Implement a weekly dedicated block of time (e.g., 10 hours on Saturday) to connect deeply with your partner, unpack issues, and integrate shared experiences. This consistent effort strengthens the relationship and fosters mutual growth.
23. Avoid Loneliness in Success
Be mindful that the intense pursuit of financial or career success can lead to loneliness and the sacrifice of essential human bonding. Prioritize connection to ensure a well-rounded and fulfilling life, even amidst achievement.
24. Choose Action Over Inaction
Always choose to show up and take action, even if it means risking looking foolish or making mistakes, as inaction guarantees no progress. It is better to regret what you attempt than what you don’t do.
9 Key Quotes
I'd rather you look stupid. I'd rather you look like an asshole than look like a pussy. You know, you got to stand up for yourself.
Liver King
When that guy comes out, it's your truest, most authentic form, right? And that's why I said, I think we're going to be, you know, dynamic here today. Because if this is about being real and raw, a true primal is the most authentic, truest, you know, to him. And when you can be that uninhibited, it's freeing. It's completely freeing.
Liver King
I say one way or another, you're going to suffer. You can actively suffer and put in the work to grow and to get better. Or you can passively suffer with these conditions that you have to.
Liver King
Can you really hate on our species this much, right? Can you hate on your ancestors? This is not a message that I've invented. This is what our early ancestors have done. This is what modern day primitive cultures do. And they're happy as fuck. They're kicking our ass at life. And they have nothing.
Liver King
If you start eating liver, this is the easiest lever to a trajectory to a better life.
Liver King
I think it's dangerous when somebody points the finger and has a self-limiting belief about themselves or somebody else or, or any, anything for that matter.
Liver King
I think I would rather do barbarian every single day of my life than have Rad live another day like that.
Liver King
You'd rather look like an asshole, rather look like an idiot, rather look stupid than look like a pussy. You got to show up to do your job.
Liver King
If you really want to be with a 10, you got to become a 10, right? If you want to be with a queen, you got to become a king.
Liver King
3 Protocols
Liver King's Sleep Improvement Protocol
Liver King- Finish your last meal three to four hours before bed.
- Get early morning sun (through the eyes, on the face, on the skin) at the same time every day to help set your biocircadian rhythm.
- Take in the sunset as a final environmental cue that the day is winding down.
- Block artificial blue lights after sunset using blue light blocking glasses or by using firelight/candlelight.
- Put your cell phone in airplane mode when sleeping.
- Turn your Wi-Fi router off when sleeping.
- Consider sleeping closer to the ground and on a much stiffer surface (e.g., wooden planks with a thin wool mat) to improve mobility and avoid off-gassing/EMF conduction.
Liver King's Barbarian Rite of Passage
Liver King- Carry 70-pound kettlebells in each hand.
- Wear a 70-pound backpack.
- Pull a sled with 120 pounds on top.
- Wear 20-pound ankle weights.
- Walk one mile with all the weights, pushing through until completion regardless of time or discomfort.
Liver King's Approach to Building and Maintaining a Relationship with a 'Queen'
Liver King- Attract your complementary opposite by becoming a '10' or a 'King' yourself, investing in your own highest, most dominant form physically, socially, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.
- Continuously invest in yourself and your physical form to maintain what you deem attractive and sexy in your marriage.
- Prioritize dedicated time for bonding and communication (e.g., 10 hours every Saturday) to deepen the relationship and integrate shared experiences.