Gary Halbert is one of the greatest copywriters of all time.
He was convicted of tax fraud in 1984 and spent his time in prison writing letters to his son, teaching him everything he knew.
These letters became a book called The Boron Letters.
The topics were broad. Gary discussed health, money, copywriting, business, and much more.
📖 Not a fun read
The Boron Letters is available online for free, but to be honest, it’s a hard read.
First, it has a very bland style and font:
Second, the letters contained incredible nuggets of wisdom, but Gary also rumbled on many unimportant topics.
Lucky for you, I’ve read these letters, and I’ll lay down the best lessons here - starting with health.
1/ Road Work 🛣️
Gary’s first (and most important) life tip is to do Road Work first thing in the morning.
Road work is walking, running, or jogging outside.
He believed that the best way to start the day is to do it for one hour in the morning, six days a week.
Doing Road Work is great because it’s easy (you can start tomorrow) and leads to positive additions to the benefits that follow.
2/ Eat less 🍳
Gary stated that breakfast is not the most important meal of the day.
He suggests not eating too much before lunch and eating just three pieces of fruit: Banana, Apple, and Orange.
“I believe that fruit is the number one food category that Americans need to eat more of”
Fast on Sunday
Sunday is when you give your body and mind rest.
Six days a week, you should do “Road Work.”
On your rest day, Gary suggests fasting and doing little to no exercise.
“When you fast, you normalize your body functions and also, you develop a certain self-discipline that will help you in most other areas of your life.”
3/ More eating tips 🥬
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Eat many vegetables: prepare them the day before and munch them all day.
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Eat between meals: six small meals > three big meals.
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Drink one large glass of non-fat milk.
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Eat one serving of lean meat or fowl. “Hamburgers are fine too”
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Go easy with eggs. Two or three a week is plenty.
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Get some protein powder.
4/ Why you NEED bigger arms 💪🏻
Gary didn’t talk about doing general exercise. He talks specifically about getting bigger arms.
Why?
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It is useful to be strong.
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Life has little sympathy for a weakling.
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A weak body signals a lack of self-respect.
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Women are attracted to lean men with muscular arms.
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Animals tend to prey on weak or helpless animals.
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Rely on your strength instead of somebody else’s compassion. How do you develop your arms? Do benches and curls.
“There is no justice. There is only power.”
🎁 Bonus: 3 book recommendations from Gary
In the next few letters, Gary talks about how to make money.
Part 2 is coming on Wednesday!