You Are Heroic with Brian Johnson

Continuing our little series on the science of courage, how about some more wisdom from Robert Biswas-Diener?   In The Courage Quotient , he tells us: "Herein lies the intervention related to failure: accept it. We modern people have fallen in love with the idea that we are in control of our lives, and this worldview gives rise to an impulse to resist failure, to fight against the very notion of i...

In our last +1, we all get issued our magic wand.   It can alchemize any and all challenges into fuel for our growth.   Thank you, Hermes and Epictetus!!   I mentioned the fact that Ward Farnsworth shared that passage in his great book The Practicing Stoic .    He shared it in a chapter on how Stoics deal with adversity in which he tells us: "Stoics avoid adversity in the ways that anyone of sense...

In our last +1, we played the "I want to speak with your supervisor!" game.   You play it yet?   If not, try it.   It's truly awesome.   As you'll recall, the most important part of the process is to start with the end in mind —knowing that it'll end with you praising the awesomeness of the rep who helped you.    (btw: When you chat with the supervisor, tell THEM how great of a job THEY must be do...

In our last +1, we upgraded our conception of Soul Mates to Soul Mate 2.0.   (At least I did! )   Before we jump into the wisdom for Today's +1, how about some fun Johnson family history?!   Once upon a time (actually, almost exactly 13 years ago), Alexandra and I met.    At the time I was running a social networking site called Zaadz that was all about connecting people who wanted to be the chang...

In our last +1, we spent some time with Carlos Castaneda and his Toltec Warrior. Today, we're going to spend a little more time with this eccentric teacher.   I've always found one passage of his to be particularly powerful.   THIS one: "Anything is one of a million paths. Therefore, a warrior must always keep in mind that a path is only a path; if he feels that he should not follow it, he must no...

In our last +1, we did some swooping and gliding and hunting with a red-tailed hawk and our bird-watching guide: Carlos Castaneda.   Today I want to chat about that hawk again.   I mentioned the fact that he's not worried about whether or not he'll find his prey.   He's just hunting.   Calmly, 100% focused on the PROCESS.   Letting the outcomes take care of themselves.   He's not up there flying a...

In our last couple +1s, we've been having fun spending some time with former Navy SEAL Commander and perennial wolf-tamer, Mark Divine.   Most recently, we named our Courage wolf, "Daimon" and our Fear wolf, "Demon."   (As Dan Siegel and other mindfulness neuroscientists would say: It's always wise to " Name It to Tame It! ")   I mentioned the fact that I made a note on a piece of paper to make su...

I'm the kinda guy who goes to a movie with a pen and paper ready to take notes.   Well, I'm actually the kinda guy who (aside from when I'm on the Trail) pretty much ALWAYS has a pen and paper ready to take notes.   So…   The other day, I'm that guy in the movie theatre watching the most recent Star Wars installment: The Rise of Skywalker .    Luke is chatting with Rey and drops some fantastic Opt...

In our last +1, we talked about making a Purpose upgrade—going from a grand conception of one "big purpose" for life (Purpose 1.0) to finding micro-moments of purpose all day every day (Purpose 2.0).   I promised to chat about HOW to go about doing that Today.   So…    Here we are.   Let's bring Tom Rath back for some more wisdom from Life's Great Question .   Tom is a senior scientist at Gallup a...

Richard Rohr is one of my new favorite teachers.   Alexandra got me his book called Falling Upward after I told her how much I loved David Brooks' The Second Mountain . Apparently it's recommended alongside that book on Amazon. With 1,400+ reviews, Alexandra thought I might like it.   And, well, YES!! Not only did I like the book, I loved it. (Check out those Notes for more.)   And… I fell in love...

In our last +1, we talked about being Efficient vs. Effective.   Efficiency?    It's GREAT for managing our time and completing tasks. Not so great for creating EFFECTIVE relationships with people.   We also hammered our "technology is the obstacle to presence!" theme one more time. (I promise to keep coming back to it. )   Today I want to chat about another big relationship idea I've been meaning...

In our last couple +1s, we flipped through my notes from session number 150-something with my Yoda/spiritual Godfather Phil Stutz.   On page one we had: " Success doesn't matter in this world, commitment does."   On the middle of page three we had: "Real enthusiasm is passing through the worst and realizing it's the best."   Looking at the bottom of page three, we see: "How you react to dramatic t...

Gratitude.   Yes, we've been chatting about it quite a bit recently.    That's deliberate.   You know how we recently established the (scientifically-validated) Top 2 virtues as Zest + Hope?   Well…    Positive psychologists arm wrestle a bit about those top two virtues.    While Ryan Niemiec (via The Power of Character Strengths ) tells us that Zest + Hope are our Top 2, Robert Emmons tells us th...

William Damon is one of the world's leading scholars on human development. As the Director of the Stanford Center on Adolescence, Professor of Education at Stanford University, and a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Damon's research explores how people develop purpose and integrity in their work, family, and civic life. In his most recent book, The Power of Ideals, Professor Damon shares h...

In our last couple +1s, we talked about the science of gratitude and explored some tips on Robert Emmons' #1 practice: Gratitude Journaling.   Today I want to chat about one of the distinctions I most loved from his book Gratitude Works!   He tells us: "Think about and then write down those aspects of your life that you are prone to take for granted . Instead, take them as granted ."   I just LOVE...

In our last +1, we talked about how to sidestep depression and anxiety.    I still can't believe that scientists have identified a threshold for our step counts under which we make ourselves more vulnerable for anxiety and depression.   As Kelly McGonigal tells us in The Joy of Movement : "The average daily step count required to induce feelings of anxiety and depression and decrease satisfaction...

Alzheimer's. Even just thinking about that dreaded disease freaks you out a bit, eh? Over 5 million people in the US alone have Alzheimer's. 1 in 9 people over 65. We're told that there's little we can do to prevent it and even less (make that: nothing) we can do to reverse it. Well... What if we could put an End to Alzheimer's? In his great book, The End of Alzheimers, and in this conversation, D...

In our last +1, we left Zeno the leopard gecko in his terrarium and hung out with Zeno the founder of Stoicism.   As we discussed, Zeno was a wealthy merchant who arrived in Athens via shipwreck, discovered philosophy and then told his students that "he had come to value wisdom more than wealth or reputation."    He valued wisdom so much that he used to say: "My most profitable journey began on th...

The Alter Ego Effect. This is one of the most fun and compelling and inspiring books I've read in a while. I REALLY (!!!) enjoyed reading it, had a ton of fun constructing and playing with some potential Alter Egos and highly recommend it. I also really enjoyed how high-performance coach and mental game strategist Todd Herman describes the science behind the power of "secret identities" to transfo...

In our last couple +1s, we've been hanging out with Emerson, playing the "I Love You!" game and taking a quick look at the story of our world.   Today we're going to spend a little more time with Emerson and history.   First: Quick aside.   At the Optimize Coach graduation weekend, it was amazing how many of our Coaches came up to Alexandra and me and told us how much THEIR KIDS loved seeing Emers...

In our last +1, we had fun with the ultimate riddles of life—from skunks and giraffes to watches and pearls.    And… The answer to pretty much all of life's riddles?   Love.   After Emerson gave me that answer to the hero-virtue riddle, we went to visit the ladies in the bath to tell mommy about his answer.    Which, of course, led to a whole 'nother round of riddles.    Today we're going to talk...

Irresistible. That's the perfect word to describe the growing array of addictive technologies that are capturing so much of our attention these days. And, it's the perfect name for Adam Alter's latest book. Alter is an associate professor of marketing at NYU's Stern School of Business, and a leading expert on, as the sub-title suggests, "The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping...

Ellen Langer is a professor of psychology at Harvard and one of the world's leading experts on the science of wellbeing, and what she refers to as the "psychology of possibility." Dr. Langer was first female professor to gain tenure in the Psychology Department at Harvard University, and is the the author of eleven books--including Mindfulness, The Power of Mindful Learning, and her Counterclockwi...

In our last +1, we spent some time with John Maxwell and reflected on his wisdom on the pinnacle of leadership influence: Moral Authority.   Recall: "Moral authority is the recognition of a person's leadership influence based on who they are more than the position they hold. It is attained by authentic living that has built trust and it is sustained by successful leadership endeavors. It is earned...