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Why Entrepreneurs Have Lower Testosterone
Episode 3065th September 2025 • Sexual Health For Men • Dr. Anne Truong
00:00:00 00:13:24

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Is your success being driven, or secretly sabotaged, by your hormones?

Most people assume that high-achieving entrepreneurs and executives naturally have high testosterone. But what if that’s not always the case? In this episode, we explore surprising new research that reveals how your testosterone level shifts throughout your business journey. Plus, learn what that could mean for your energy, focus, and long-term performance. Whether you're building a startup, leading a team, or just curious about optimizing your edge, this episode uncovers the hidden side of success you’ve likely never considered.

Tune in now to discover what your testosterone might really be saying about you.

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Take the ADAM Testosterone Quiz now to find out if low testosterone could be affecting your energy, focus, and overall performance.

https://link.truongrehab.com/widget/quiz/HzQZoGI8rvBdic2OAsJq

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If you liked this episode, please SUBSCRIBE, like, leave a comment, and share so we can keep bringing you valuable content that gets results!

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Curious about how you can boost your bedroom game and build lasting confidence? Check out the course at getwoodnow.com and start your journey to feeling like yourself again!

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If you enjoyed this episode and want to learn more and get more tips, subscribe to The Modern Man newsletter for exclusive content delivered straight to your inbox! https://dranne.co/themodernman

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For all links and resources mentioned on the show and where to subscribe to the podcast, please visit https://truongrehab.com/testosterone-level-entrepreneur-success

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Want to regain control of your sex life? It’s time to reverse the effects of ED on your life. Join the Modern Man Club and embark on your journey to complete recovery and community.

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Reveal the FREE treatment most men ignore that solves thousands of erectile dysfunction cases every year, plus the 5 biggest mistakes you must avoid if you want to say goodbye to your ED. Uncover it all in my free eBook, available to download now.

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Transcripts

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This podcast is for you, the Modern Man. I'm Dr Anne Truong,

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your host. I'm an intimate health medical doctor and best

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selling author of the book, Erectile Dysfunction Fix. I'll

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do a deep dive into sexual health and performance and how

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it affects men of all ages and backgrounds. So let's get

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started, and be sure to visit my website at

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sexualhealthformenpodcast.com for more information and

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resources from the show. See you on the inside.

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Hello there, Modern Man, I'm Dr Anne Truong. I'm a sexual health

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specialist. I've treated over 7000 men. In today's episode,

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we're going to ask the question, "Do entrepreneurs and executives

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have high or low testosterone?" Let's talk about the shocking

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truth.

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Think successful entrepreneurs, are they born or high

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testosterone or not? Is it an acquired thing? Well, there's a

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new research on 107 Y Combinator found that founders just

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revealed something that will blow your mind about

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testosterone level throughout the whole entrepreneurship

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journey. And if you're a founder or CEO, an entrepreneur, this

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could explain why your energy and drive might be taken. We're

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diving into the most fascinating studies I've ever seen about

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entrepreneur biology and sexual health.

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We always assume that successful business leaders are just

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naturally pumped full of testosterone, right? Alpha

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mindset, the risk taking, the dominance. It all seemed high T,

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but what if I tell you that most entrepreneurs actually start

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with low testosterone, and the level change dramatically as

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their business grows. Now stick around, because this research is

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going to change how you think about hormone success and why

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some entrepreneurs burn out while others thrive. There's a

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ground breaking study that's called the Y Combinator study,

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where they looked at 107 male founders. So this study is

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turning everything upside down. Researcher just analyzed

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testosterone level of 107 male founders from the Y Combinator

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and the results are wild. So this is the result right here.

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What they found is that each at the funding stage, the pre-seed

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funding stage, their testosterone level is in a

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healthy range. Seed funding stage, their testosterone level

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actually jump. Series A, there's a steady growth of testosterone

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level. Series B, however, that is higher than the pre-seed peak

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level, and then this late stage VC, there's a massive 42% drop.

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So what does this mean? It means that at Series B level, when

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founders actually achieve what doctors consider optimal

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testosterone level. Before that, most were running on themes.

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Why does this happen? It's actually brilliant from an

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evolutionary perspective. The early stage, the grind. That's

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when you're starting out, you're stressed, you're probably broke,

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and you're working 80 hour week, and you're eating ramen. Your

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body's basically on survival mode. So chronic stress pump out

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cortisol, which kills testosterone. So then when

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you're series A and B, you get the confidence boost. It's a

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magic happen. You start raising money, start getting validation,

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maybe you're hiring your first employee, your confidence

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source. So you feel like an alpha founder, and your body

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responds by cranking up testosterone. In the late stage,

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that's the pressure cooker. Then reality hits. Bigger rounds mean

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bigger expectation. Board pressure, scaling challenges,

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and suddenly you're back to chronic stress, and boom,

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testosterone crashes.

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So there's a door formal secret. So here's the real kicker.

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Separate Harvard study found that the most successful

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executives don't have high testosterone. They have high

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testosterone and low cortisol. This magic combination, high T,

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gives you drive and confidence. Low cortisol means you're

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managing stress effectively. You get both. You literally manage

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people and higher position, higher revenue, higher

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achievement. So what does this mean? This means that you really

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want to focus on activity that will raise your testosterone and

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activity that will lower your testosterone. So does that mean

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successful entrepreneurs may acquire or you're born with it.

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Most likely you probably acquire skills throughout your life and

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also the mindset that will predispose you to be successful.

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So what does that really truly mean? Truly mean that you really

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need to be on top of your health, and I've always said

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that your sexual health align with your general health. What

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that means is that know how you feel, be attuned to your body,

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and that when you're working the activity that produce high

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testosterone levels are like acquisition, taking risks and

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dominant leadership behavior. Here's the business performance

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connection, high testosterone level, low cortisol.

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So what do you do to increase your testosterone? Your diet,

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Mediterranean diet, consistent exercise, meditation, sleep,

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stop smoking and stop porn, and also moderate your alcohol to

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about 14 drinks or less. Consider the same thing as ED.

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You're recognizing this. Are you following this as well? These

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are the same things I've been talking about for ED as well. So

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testosterone level really correlate with business success

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and really good health. Here is where it gets interesting. Some

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researchers think that there's a selection effect happening.

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Maybe not that success boosts testosterone. Maybe higher

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testosterone, they're more likely to be successful. So

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think about this. Higher T, more risk tolerance. More risk

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tolerance, more likely to start a company or take chances.

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Better stress management, more likely to survive the startup

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grind, natural confidence, better at pitching and funding.

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So is it the chicken or the egg? Probably it's both. Natural

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testosterone help you succeed, and success reinforces more

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testosterone. It's a positive feedback loop. And it's a

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negative feedback loop in a sense, if you don't pay

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attention to your health. And the number one thing is sleep.

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Remember, testosterone are made during your sleep, and this is

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for all men, not just business owners as well. So your hormone

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could be sabotaging your business. So pay attention to

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the warning sign of low testosterone, like constant

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fatigue, despite adequate sleep, loss of competitive drive,

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difficulty making decisive decision, decreased motivation

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for challenges, brain fog during important meeting, loss of that

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fire. What are symptoms of high cortisol or chronic stress? Can

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shut off work, thought, waking up tired even after eight hours

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of sleep, getting sick frequently, irritability, making

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reactive decision rather than strategic decision. So here's a

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vicious cycle. Once your hormones get out of whack, it

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creates a vicious cycle. Low T, less drive, performance not that

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great, more stress. Higher cortisol, lower T is a vicious

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cycle that feed onto itself. So you either fix it or you burn

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out completely.

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So the solution that can actually work, it's called the

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Optimization Protocol that you can almost hack your hormone for

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entrepreneur success. So test, don't guess. Get your baseline

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number, your total and free testosterone, your cortisol,

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your morning and evening level. That is measured by saliva.

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Thyroid function test, vitamin D, V12, zinc level, and then

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stress management with meditation, exercise, but don't

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overdo it. And really set boundaries for yourself and

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delegate if needed, as much as possible. Remember, sleep is

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essential. 80% of testosterone are made during sleep. So get

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about at least seven hours a night and sleep in a cool, dark

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room. I recommend even lower it down to even 65 and a dark room

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will shut down your eyes and also wear an eye mask. Eye mask

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will help you sleep better because input from the eyes

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itself account for 30% of your brain activity. No screen one

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hour before bed, consider wearing a sleep tracker, like

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the Apple Watch. I don't have my Apple Watch right now. And then,

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the third part is nutrition, a Mediterranean diet, and really

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probably go see a doctor to interpret your blood test for

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you, and if you're over 35 think about getting on testosterone

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replacement therapy. Might be worth exploring with a doctor

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here and available if you need us at this point. I have daily

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energy tip it's called dailypeakenergy.com that will

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give you some tips that you can optimize your productivity and

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energy level and your testosterone level for more

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productivity in the day. That will actually increase your

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productivity by three times. When you're optimizing your

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hormones and decreasing your stress, you consistently have

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high energy and drive and also have better improved bedroom

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performance as well too. So it will also give you a competitive

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edge in the business as well. If you want to know whether you

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have low or normal testosterone, there is a questionnaire down

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below right here, and check that out and do the questionnaire and

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find out if your testosterone level is adequate or normal. And

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if it's adequate, great, keep doing what you're doing. Is it

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low? There are things that we can do, such as testosterone

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replacement therapy, diet exercise that can really

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increase that at this time. So get tested, audit your stress

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and track your energy and track your sleeping habit.

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And I hope you like this episode. Let me know what your

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thoughts are, and if you have low or normal testosterone at

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this point, just know that there are resources available. You do

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not have to suffer in silence, and that ED also mirror business

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success and also mirror wellness. So get rid of your ED,

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you're going to be taking care of your heart and your business

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as well. Having said that, Modern Man, I will see you in

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the next episode.

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Okay, Modern Man, you are not alone and you don't have to

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suffer anymore. ED can feel isolating, frustrating, and even

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defeating. The endless guessing, the quiet shame, the weight of

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not feeling like yourself is exhausting. But here's the

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truth, you are not broken. You are not alone. You don't have to

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figure this out alone anymore. The Get Wood Now Boost Program

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is your step by step, path to sexual confidence and

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error, just real solution, real result and the confidence you

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deserve. It's time to take back your power on your term. Let's

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get this journey started together. Check out the course

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at getwoodnow.com. I'll see you there.

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Thanks for listening to the Sexual Health for Men Podcast.

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If you love this episode, then please take a screenshot on your

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phone and post it on Facebook, Instagram, or wherever you post,

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and be sure to tag me and let me know why you like this episode

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and what you like to hear in the future. That will help me know

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what's great for you and I would love to give you the most

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incredible free gift designed to help you improve performance

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quickly. Go to my website at sexualhealthformenpodcast.com to

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get the book, The Five Common Costly Mistakes Men Make When

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Facing ED. I would appreciate if you subscribe, leave a review on

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Apple podcasts or wherever you listen. And just know that you

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can have sexual vitality for life. I appreciate you until

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next time.

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