Keith Rabois has built companies, backed some of Silicon Valley's biggest successes, and earned a reputation as one of the sharpest strategic minds in venture capital. But when Louisa sat down with him, they barely spoke about investing. Instead, they explored the system behind his decision-making: the daily habits he believes keep his brain performing at an elite level. From treating himself like a professional athlete to measuring every workout for more than two decades, Rabois argues that...
Keith Rabois has built companies, backed some of Silicon Valley's biggest successes, and earned a reputation as one of the sharpest strategic minds in venture capital. But when Louisa sat down with him, they barely spoke about investing. Instead, they explored the system behind his decision-making: the daily habits he believes keep his brain performing at an elite level. From treating himself like a professional athlete to measuring every workout for more than two decades, Rabois argues that the strongest predictor of longevity isn't genetics or supplements, it's VO₂ max.
He explains why every ambitious person should know their VO₂ max, why he believes improving it may have a greater impact than many of the world's biggest public health campaigns, and why he asks founders the same question before asking about their company. You'll hear why he wears a fitness tracker every day, why he hasn't missed more than seven workouts in seven years, and why he believes consistency, not intensity, is what compounds into extraordinary performance.
The conversation then moves beyond fitness into the psychology of excellence. Keith explains why he reads for an hour every day, how reading the encyclopedia as a child shaped the way he thinks, and why nearly every world-class founder, politician, and investor he admires shares one habit: relentless curiosity. He reveals how he learned to assess people within minutes, what he looks for on a LinkedIn profile before an interview, why preparation matters far more than talent, and the invisible work that most people mistake for luck.
They also dive into his longevity protocol: why creatine became a non-negotiable after reading the cognitive research, how he approaches blood work differently from traditional medicine, why he uses red light therapy and cryotherapy, the supplements he actually believes are worth taking, and why he refuses to use anything that could unnecessarily affect his brain. He explains why he would invest in brain-computer interfaces but never electively implant one himself, and why protecting the unique quirks of your brain may be more valuable than enhancing them.
Finally, they unpack one of his most controversial beliefs: stress isn't something to eliminate, it's something to embrace. Drawing on the research behind *The Upside of Stress*, Keith explains why people who reframe stress consistently outperform those who fear it, why challenge drives growth from the cellular level to leadership, and how high-performing teams balance obsession, accountability, and psychological safety.
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TOPICS DISCUSSED
00:00 Intro: Stress, VO₂ Max, and the Traits of Elite Performers
00:35 Why Keith Rabois Treats Himself Like a Professional Athlete
03:18 Why VO₂ Max Predicts How Long You'll Live
05:06 Performance Medicine vs Traditional Medicine
08:34 The Biomarker Every Founder Should Track
09:52 Creatine, Omega-3s, and the Supplements That Actually Matter
12:02 Red Light Therapy, Cryotherapy, and Recovery
13:45 Why Better Health Makes Better Investors
15:35 The Habits Shared by Elite Performers
18:15 Sleep, Resistance Training, and Cognitive Performance
22:44 Reading the Encyclopedia Cover to Cover
26:00 Why Every Successful Person Makes Time to Read
27:42 How Keith Evaluates Talent
29:30 Learning to Assess People in Minutes
33:02 Spotting the DoorDash Founder Early
36:15 What Makes Someone a "Barrel"
39:02 Why Exercise Improves Decision Making
42:04 The "No Days Off" Philosophy
43:46 Why Keith Refuses Elective Brain Implants
50:28 The Science Behind Embracing Stress
54:36 Building High-Performance Teams
57:08 Why Criticism Should Sometimes Be Public
59:00 Optimizing Time by Combining Work and Relationships
01:01:24 The Habit That Finally Made Him Quit Diet Coke
01:03:03 Why Luck Is Really Preparation Meeting Opportunity
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