So you’re telling me there’s a chance 🙂 

I know the world is melting down in chaos, so sometimes it’s hard to choose which chaos or health principle to talk about each week. But if I have to choose talking about building up your character or building up your muscles - I think the former holds more weight and impact over time.

And with that, let’s talk about making hard decisions. It's not often we see someone in the corporate world make a decision on principle that could cost them their company, their career, their reputation - maybe even their freedom— and their stakeholders hundreds of billions of dollars.

Last week, that's exactly what started to unfold in the world of AI and geopolitics. And whether you care about artificial intelligence or not, this story has a lesson for all of us.

The Backstory

Back in 2015, a group of tech heavyweights — including Elon Musk, Sam Altman, and Dario Amodei — co-founded OpenAI as a nonprofit with a noble mission: develop AI safely, for the benefit of humanity. Not for shareholders. Not for the Pentagon. For people.

Musk eventually walked away. Altman steered OpenAI toward a capped-profit model and massive commercial deals. And Amodei? He grew increasingly concerned that safety was taking a back seat to speed and money. In late 2020, he left to co-found Anthropic — a rival AI company — with his sister Daniela and a handful of former OpenAI researchers. Their entire pitch: safety first.

The Moment of Truth

Fast-forward to last week. The U.S. Department of Defense told Amodei: remove the guardrails on your AI, or else. Specifically, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth demanded Anthropic allow its AI to be used for "all lawful purposes" — including fully autonomous weapons and mass domestic surveillance of American citizens.

Amodei's response? Nah man, that ain’t what I’m about. Ok it was more like - No.

Not "let me think about it." Not "let's negotiate." No.

Here's what followed:

• The Pentagon threatened to blacklist Anthropic and label it a national security risk - basically as if your company was a foreign terrorist!

• President Trump ordered all federal agencies to stop using Anthropic's products, calling the company "radical left" and "woke" - that list includes Lockheed, Boeing and on down the list of top government contractors.

• Pentagon officials called Amodei a "liar" with a "God complex"

• Hours later, Sam Altman and OpenAI swooped in and signed their own deal with the Pentagon — Monday morning he was realizing how bad the optics looked - OpenAI’s contract is one that doesn't include those same protections against surveillance - and as I went down that rabbit hole - it comes down to - a person should be the one determining if a weapon is used vs someone’s name will be on the govt report signing off on ‘what happened’.

In a CBS interview, Amodei explained his reasoning simply: AI "doesn't show the judgment that a human soldier would show." He said he couldn't in good conscience sell technology he believes isn't reliable enough for life-and-death decisions — technology that could get Americans killed.

And Then Something Interesting Happened

The market spoke. Not Wall Street — people.

Within days, Anthropic's Claude app hit #1 on the App Store, dethroning ChatGPT for the first time. Daily sign-ups quadrupled. Users flooded Reddit and X with "Cancel ChatGPT" campaigns, sharing guides to switch to Claude.

Doing the right thing didn't destroy his company. It might be building it. Or it may be short-lived because consumer pennies are a whole lot different than Uncle Sam’s checkbook.

I can say that using both AI models - Claude is lightyears ahead of OpenAI in my experience.

Why This Matters

Here's the part that got my attention and has kept it for a few days.

We face our own versions of this every day. Not with the Pentagon, for most of us — but with the quiet pressure to compromise what we know is right because the cost feels too high.

• Staying in a job that's wrecking your health because the paycheck is too good to walk away from

• Saying yes to commitments you know will drain you because saying no feels selfish or guilt compels you

• Ignoring the voice in your gut that's telling you something needs to change — in your relationships, your habits, your priorities

• Choosing convenience over conviction because the short-term path of least resistance is just... easier

Doing what's right almost always costs you something. That's what makes it right — and that's what makes it rare - and beautiful!

Amodei bet his company on a principle. Most of us aren't risking billions, but we are risking something every time we choose comfort over courage. Our energy. Our integrity. Our long-term happiness.

The people we admire most — in business, in health, in life — aren't the ones who had it easy. They're the ones who chose hard when hard was the right call.

Ask yourself this question: What is the thing I've been avoiding because the cost feels too high?

Maybe this week is the week you stop avoiding it.

-Jared

P.S. My wife has a beautiful newsletter where she shares her perspectives on tending the land, recipes, women’s health and more.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on choosing principle over convenience. 👋

I write this newsletter each week because I feel my best when my body, mind and soul are all healthy. I want the same for you. If you feel like you’ve seen something valuable here, please do me a favor and forward this newsletter to a friend or let me know what you think by replying to this email or texting me - (310) 879-8441

P.S. - This newsletter does not provide medical advice. The content, such as graphics, images, text, and all other materials, is provided for reference and educational purposes only. The content is not meant to be complete or exhaustive or to be applicable to any specific individual's medical condition.

Here are a few other links to things that have changed my life:

Whoop - Track your HRV and REM Sleep

Function Health - Optimize Your Health via 160+ BioMarkers

Here are a few topics I think you’ll love if you haven’t checked them out before:

How to Breathe for Better Health

How to Supercharge Your Sleep

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