September 23, 2026
Good Morning. McDonald's stock is down 18% in a year, and the fix starts with a menu most franchisees ignored. Plus, youngest Republican nominee, eating lean for life, and the real Ari Gold (first time here? Join 523,000 Betterists ).
Yesterday’s most clicked link : Sandra Bullock’s $50M real estate portfolio
TOP STORY TODAY
McDonald’s Turnaround Plan
McDonald's holds its first investor day in nearly three years today in Chicago, where executives will detail a turnaround plan. The stock has fallen 18% in a year while the S&P 500 gained 16%.
U.S. same-store sales rose just 0.8% last quarter, and fewer people walked in the door. The plan leans on remodeled restaurants, a hand-breaded chicken line aimed at Chick-fil-A, and new drinks like crafted sodas and energy drinks.
Value is the sticking point. Only about two-thirds of U.S. franchisees adopted the recent under-$3 menu, so deals advertised nationally aren't available at every location, and offers vary store to store. Why value deals vary by location .
The Republican Nominee
Republican senators are making early moves toward 2028 presidential runs, even with Vice President JD Vance leading primary polls. Rick Scott headlined a New Hampshire dinner Friday, and Ted Cruz and John Kennedy have both visited Iowa.
A recent poll of Republican likely voters put Vance at 44% and Marco Rubio at 21%, with Cruz at 3%. Rand Paul says he's 50-50 on running and will decide after the midterms.
Only two sitting vice presidents have entered competitive primaries since the 1970s, and both won their nominations. Kennedy had $18.6 million in his Senate account in June, and Vance would be the youngest nominee (just 42) since 1960. Vance calls 2028 talk premature .
Quarterback Injury Epidemic
Five starting NFL quarterbacks have been hurt in the first two weeks, including the defending Super Bowl champion's Sam Darnold. Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart went down Monday night on his team's seventh snap ( WSJ ).
Dart was sandwiched between two Rams defenders and grabbed his left knee. A day earlier, Caleb Williams was carted off in Chicago and gave fans a thumbs-up; his injury turned out to be a hamstring strain.
Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota are set to start in Week 3, with Tyler Bagent next up if Williams sits. Backups for injured starters are typically available on fantasy waiver wires, and claims process before Thursday night's kickoff.
The move: claim the replacement starters before Thursday night's kickoff | Every Week 3 injury and who replaces them
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How to kill self-doubt
Tony Robbins says self-doubt runs on a loop, and most people never notice they're in it.
It works like this. You doubt your potential, so you take small action. Small action gets small results. Those results seem to prove the doubt was right, so you try even less next time. The loop feeds itself.
It runs the same way in reverse. Certainty leads to massive action , massive action gets real results, and results make belief stronger.
His point: you can't change your potential today, and taking more action while expecting failure won't help either. The thing that changes is certainty, and you have to build it before any results arrive.
How he says it: "I'm going to find the way. And if this doesn't work, I will make the way."
Watch Tony Robbins explain the belief loop .
The secret to staying lean for life
(Or, what Mark Sisson eats in a day)
Mark Sisson ran a 2:18 marathon and finished fourth at the Ironman World Championship. He later built Primal Kitchen and sold it to Kraft Heinz for $200 million. He's in his early seventies and still lean. Here's his day:
- Morning: A strong French press coffee with raw cream and a little monk fruit, plus a crossword. No food until around 12:30.
- Lunch: Salmon over a small bed of greens. Protein first, not a giant salad.
- Dinner, around 7:30: A ribeye, asparagus, avocado, and a glass or two of dry wine.
No snacks in between. Two meals, under 2,000 calories, over 100 grams of protein.
His explanation: metabolic flexibility. When your body burns fat efficiently, hunger stops running your day.
Watch what Mark Sisson eats in a day | Mark on Joe Rogan
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