Hope, self-worth, mind and matter.
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Read time: 6 minutes

Hey, welcome back.

Before we get started with this email, I recently received a couple of messages from subscribers saying they didn’t get an issue of Science of Success. My team and I believe we’ve found the problem and fixed it. However, if you’ve now started receiving this newsletter in your inbox but are no longer interested in the content, you can unsubscribe here.

Anyway, last week, I wrote about how your brain wasn't built for the internet.

​You can read that (and all past issues, here).

Today, I'm going a bit deeper, personal, and I hope for some of you - meaningful as tomorrow is World Mental Health Day - this one's what I learned about mental health, how I overcame my challenges, and what you can do. Before you say: Oh this one's not for me, I don't have any mental health problems, stop and know this:

1. You may need to know this information for a loved one or friend someday
2. Just because you haven't had challenges yet, doesn't mean you won't in the future

Either way - prevention is the cure - so there will be something in here for everyone.

Some quick context

If you know me and my work building Heights, you'll know I love to drone on about mental health and brain health. I grew up around it.

My uncle is a schizophrenic, my grandma died of Alzheimer's. My parents however, both had numerous physical health challenges and tricky upbringings - and extremely robust mental health.

Meanwhile, I grew up in a loving household, adored by my parents, given a great education, worked really hard and yet in my teen years I struggled, and in my 20s my mental health took a nose dive.

Teenage years are complex - hormones, bullying (I was fat), finding yourself, etc - so let's ignore those for now, but in my 20s I lived through:

• Bulimia (never told anyone about this I was so ashamed)
• Depression (medicated on antidepressants)
• Chronic anxiety (absolutely destroyed my confidence)
• Suicidal thoughts (overwhelmed by negativity and wanting to end it)
• Insomnia (worst of all experiences, 6 months of no sleeping).

A decade of living like this, whilst trying to build startups, most of which failed (I've been an entrepreneur since I was 24), can really make you believe life will never get better.

And yet, here I am today, at least 5 years since my last panic attack (a symptom of the chronic anxiety), 15 years since my last depressive episode, 7 years since insomnia, healthy, eating well (still insecure about my body but can't win them all), and not having had a suicidal thought in 10 years.

What you need to know about all of this: I never gave up hope that future me was nothing like today's me. I can change. So can you.

The Science of Change

I learned about one concept that changed my life. It was called 'neuroplasticity'. Ultimately, your brain is 'plastic' and can change its shape and make up if you will it into existence through your daily habits.

Why this matters: I believed the Freudian view that 'you are stuck with the brain you're born with'. This leads you to think that you at your lowest point - is you always, and hoping to feel different is a pointless endeavour. That takes away hope, which means you won't try, which in itself is a self-fulfilling prophecy. A doom cycle.

I, however, discovered neuroplasticity and realised that with deliberate intentions, with daily practice, with a consistent effort - I could change my brain, slowly but surely - and become a happy, successful person.

Your Inputs Drive Your Outputs

The first thing I did was an audit. If your inputs drive your outputs, it suddenly occurred to me that I had to get really good at controlling what enters my brain. Some quick tips:

• Unfollow anyone toxic, negative, spicy, controversial etc, on social media
• Actively seek out and follow people who offer tips, advice, positivity, happiness, etc. Follow me on Instagram here ​
• I changed my homepage to content from Info is Beautiful, which shows data visualisations of how the world is getting better
• I took book recommendations on self-help books. I am still an absolute self-help book junkie. It doesn't matter that they all say the same thing - what matters is I am always filling my brain up with reinforcing positive messages about being a better person and living in a better world.

Change Takes Time

When your mental health is in a bad place, it can feel impossible to make any change at all - like you’re trying to climb a mountain without the energy to even lace up your shoes.

But the science of habit change shows that small, consistent actions can literally rewire your brain. Each time you do something positive, like take a short walk, journal for two minutes, reach out to a friend; your brain releases tiny bursts of reward chemicals that reinforce that behaviour. Over time, those micro-moments of progress compound. What starts as a single, almost meaningless act becomes a signal to your brain: I’m capable of feeling a bit better than I did yesterday.

Don't wait to change, start today.

The truth is, we often wait to feel good before doing the things that make us feel good. That’s the trap. The science says you have to flip it: act first, mood follows. Remember, prevention is the cure. Building small, repeatable habits around sleep, nutrition, mindfulness, or gratitude starts creating upward momentum.

It’s not about motivation or willpower; it’s about systems that make healthy choices easier than unhealthy ones. And as you stack those small wins, your identity starts to shift, too. You stop seeing yourself as “someone with poor mental health” and start becoming “someone who looks after their mind, and takes care of their brain - what I defined as 'braincare'.

That’s the power of habit.

It’s not just about changing what you do, it’s about changing who you believe you are.

You are successful. You have potential. You can do more. You're fucking brilliant.

Reach Out to Someone Today

If you've read this far and thought OK well cool this doesn't really impact me cos I do feel fine, Dan then know this. The World Health Organisation has described poor mental health as the 'greatest epidemic of our times'.

One of the biggest shockers in our increasingly social media phone fuelled world is - connection. We're getting lonelier and it's impacting us dramatically. That's why the one thing you can do today is reach out to someone and don't just say how are you on a message, but see if they want to go for a coffee, a walk, and if you can't do that, just make time for a phone call. It's not overly dramatic to say you could save their life.

• Over 1 billion people have a reported mental health condition
• In June alone this year - over 2 million people in the UK sought out professional mental health services - just imagine how many didn't.
• Suicide is now the leading cause of death for men - twice the amount for women - but as someone who has had these thoughts themselves, they can be reversed, with love, compassion, and feeling like you matter in someone else's world. Friends are crucial for this.

Where To Start

There's a big old list of things I did and the science of habit change suggests you should do what I did and just pick up one or two things at any time, until they are a habit. Here's my list, and the order in which I stacked habits to improve my life.

1. Reading. Remember, inputs drive your outputs. I read books like The Power of Now, The Source, The Body Keeps The Score, etc.
2. Walking. Sounds simple - but building a habit of a daily walk in nature (a park will do) can change your life.
3. Gratitude. Starting a daily gratitude practice of writing down 3 things I'm grateful for today - the science is incredibly robust on this.
4. Nutrition. This is the most overlooked area in mental health and can have from my experience - the fastest impact. It led to me starting Heights, so honestly, I would whole heartedly suggest that too as our foundation was all about feeding your brain and mental health.
5. Sports/exercise. As great as the gym and running etc is for your long term health and mental health, in a loneliness epidemic it's just as important to pick up a hobby that revolves around connection. Padel, park run, hyrox - pick your poison, but group exercise at least once a week is an incredible way to get your serotonin, dopamine and oxytocin firing on all cylinders and will make you happy and healthy.

OK, folks, that's enough on this topic for today. Today, I objectively consider my life a huge success. I am still building it, still want to find more success in the pursuit of greatness, but I am happy, I am healthy, I am loved, I have purpose. None of those things were true even 10 years ago. So if you are stuck, if you wish things would change, just know they can. I am living proof. I'm here to support you on your journey.

With love and better mental health for all,
​Dan

SOS (Science of Success) Curated

Dan on Diary of a CEO discussing mental health

Now is definitely the time to give this a go.

Listen here

​The Power of Now

Busy mind you cant control? Give The Power of Now a try. Short, weird, different, might just change how you think.

Read here

Elevate yourself with 1-1 Coaching with Dan In my goal to help more entrepreneurs/people who are looking to level up their careers, I've just started taking 1-1 consulting calls (only 1 a week) Why book a call? Some of my expertise/success: I've built 5 startups. 1 win, 1 fail, and 3 still going. E-Commerce: Heights - with revenue over £20M a year. Community: Foundrs, one of the UK's top founder communities Podcasting: Leaders Media - I bootstrapped a media company that made the UK's top business podcasts including Secret Leaders, with over 50M downloads across the network. Health/Mental Health: Overcame burnout, insomnia, depression & anxiety in pursuit of success. Hear me on Steven Bartlett's on Diary of a CEO. Angel Investing: I've invested in over 100 startups Coached & Mentored: Certified coach & 5* mentor on Mentorpass Personal Brand: Over 400,000 followers across social So if you're interested in booking a session with me to talk all things business or building a personal brand, book for 30-minutes or 45-minutes (limited spots). Click Here To Book

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