What does the world’s richest man have in common with a 66-year-old from California who hasn’t seen a doctor in over a decade?
One word. One principle. One life-changing philosophy that most people will never discover.
The Eureka Moment That Changed Everything
I was driving through the California hills, listening to Walter Isaacson’s biography of Elon Musk, when my world stopped.
Isaacson was describing Musk’s legendary “DELETE” principle, the ruthless engineering philosophy that built Tesla and SpaceX. When Musk’s engineers design anything, they must follow one non-negotiable rule:
DELETE every part, process, or requirement that cannot be PROVEN absolutely essential.
Challenge every assumption. Question every tradition. If it can’t justify its existence, eliminate it without mercy.
Musk hadn’t given me a new idea. He had given me a name for the principle that had secretly guided my life for over 16 years, the same principle that had transformed me from a sick, tired, medicated man into someone who, at 66, runs marathons and has zero diseases.
The Universal Formula They Don’t Want You to Know
Here’s what I realized over last 16 years, and what every health guru, pharmaceutical company, and processed food manufacturer desperately hopes you never figure out:
Life = Time + Energy
Time? We can’t hack it. It flows at exactly the same rate for billionaires and broke college students alike.
But Energy? That’s the ultimate variable. The one lever we can pull. The single factor that determines whether we’re thriving or merely surviving.
Life Is Energy & Energy Is Life
And the primary input for our energy isn’t supplements, medications, or expensive treatments.
It’s food.
My 16-Year DELETE Experiment
More than 16 years ago, I became the chief engineer of my own biology. I didn’t call it “DELETE” then, I just knew something was fundamentally broken with how we approach health.
So I started eliminating. Ruthlessly.
DELETED: The brain fog I thought was “just getting older” DELETED: The afternoon energy crashes that made me useless after 2 PM DELETED: The medicine cabinet full of bandaid solutions DELETED: The processed foods that left me feeling like a deflated balloon DELETED: The cooked oils that made my joints ache DELETED: The refined sugars that sent my energy on a roller coaster DELETED: The complex cooked meals that required more energy to digest than they provided
What was I left with after this systematic elimination?
Plant-based, raw, living foods direct energy from the sun and earth, delivered in the format our bodies were designed to process.
The Results That Doctors Can’t Explain
My mantra became simple: “If It’s Not Made by Mother Nature, It’s Not Going on My Plate.”
The transformation wasn’t gradual. It was dramatic:
- Brain fog? DELETED. Replaced by the mental clarity that fuels my poetry and music.
- Joint pain? DELETED. Now I backpack for days through mountain trails.
- Afternoon crashes? DELETED. My energy runs steady from sunrise to sunset.
- Prescription medications? DELETED. Zero pills for zero diseases.
- Doctor visits? DELETED. Haven’t needed one in over a decade.
At 66 years old, I have the energy of someone half my age and the health markers that make my younger friends jealous.
Why This Works (And Why Nobody Talks About It)
The same logic that builds rockets rebuilds health. It’s a fundamental principle of engineering efficiency, whether you’re optimizing metal or metabolism.
But there’s a problem: There’s no money in DELETE.
You can’t patent “eat what nature made.” You can’t sell subscriptions to “eliminate what doesn’t serve you.” You can’t build a pharmaceutical empire on “remove the poison.”
The entire modern health industry is built on ADDITION: Add this supplement, add this medication, add this treatment, add this complicated protocol.
Meanwhile, the answer has always been SUBTRACTION.
The DELETE Challenge: Your First Mission
I’m not asking you to transform your entire life overnight. That’s overwhelming, and overwhelming doesn’t work.
I’m asking you to become an engineer. Your own chief engineer.
Start with ONE strategic deletion this week.
Here are some powerful first moves:
- DELETE the afternoon snack that crashes your energy
- DELETE the processed breakfast that starts your day in a fog
- DELETE the evening glass of wine that ruins your sleep quality
- DELETE the oils in your cooking that inflame your joints
- DELETE the sugar that hijacks your brain chemistry
Pick ONE. Engineer it out of your system. Observe the results with scientific curiosity.
The Compound Effect of Strategic Elimination
Here’s what most people miss: Every DELETE creates space for something better.
When you delete the energy drains, you don’t just feel “less bad.” You unlock energy you didn’t know you had. Energy that compounds. Energy that transforms not just your health, but your entire life.
I’ve spent 16 years proving this principle works. The evidence is written in my bloodwork, my stamina, my clarity, and my joy.
If a 66-year-old can engineer a life of vibrant health and boundless energy, anyone can.
The question isn’t whether this works. The question is whether you’re brave enough to start.
Your Engineering Assignment
What is ONE thing you will DELETE from your diet this week to reclaim your energy?
Share your answer in the comments below. Make it specific. Make it measurable. Make it happen.
Let’s start this mission together. Let’s delete what holds us back and engineer the vibrant lives we were meant to live.
Because life is too short to feel tired, foggy, and sick.
And you? You deserve to feel absolutely alive.
–Axay Shah
Raw Food Guru
IN NATURE WE TRUST ™