You Are Heroic with Brian Johnson

In our last +1, we talked about the research on the fact that The Pen Is Mightier Than the Keyboard: Advantages of Longhand Over Laptop Note Taking .   Today I want to talk about another way to make what we're learning stick.   We're going to consult with Barbara Oakley on this one.   Barbara taught one of the most popular classes in history. Nearly 2 million people from 200 countries have taken h...

In our last couple +1s, we talked about a key (arguably the #1 key) predictor of our long-term health/morbidity: our visceral fat.    We also discussed the Optimized WHtR (Waist-to-Height Ratio!) that gives us some insight on how we're doing with that facet of our lives. (+1 +1 +1 for the

In our last +1, we talked about the PM ritual Pythagoras came up with 2,500 years ago (!) that the Stoics liked to follow:   "Allow not sleep to close your wearied eyes, Until you have reckoned up each daytime deed:   'Where did I go wrong? What did I do? And what duty's left undone?' From first to last review your acts and then Reprove yourself for wretched acts, but rejoice in those done well."...

In our last +1, we had fun chatting about the diploma we give to our Optimize Coaches.   It so perfectly captures the underlying purpose of all of our work together that I'd like to share it again.    Here it is one more time: Having demonstrated a commitment to areté through the mastery of ancient wisdom, modern science, and the fundamentals of Optimal living—both in their own life and in service...

Last night as I was falling asleep, I was reflecting on the wonderful time I spent with a dear friend who came up to Ojai for a hike to chat about his next hero's journey.    We talked about some of the key themes of our upcoming Mastery Series/Optimize Coach program. (Fun fact: Looks like he'll be doing the program with TWO of his kids—which makes my soul smile.)   So…   One of the things we disc...

Emily Fletcher was a Broadway performer living the dream.   Only…   Her hair was graying at 27, she was always stressed and had chronic insomnia.   One of her fellow Broadway performers was always super calm and confident. Emily asked her how she did it. The woman told her that she meditated. Emily rolled her eyes. Then she decided to give meditation a try.   After ONE day of meditation, her insom...

This is Optimize +1 #1,000.   I don't really know how to best start this one other than by saying:    Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.   Seriously. I am so honored to be a part of your life—whether that's occasionally or every day. And I'm deeply grateful to have your support so I can do what I do.   Thank you.   Today I want to celebrate YOU.   And…   I want to shine a special light of awesome on...

In our last +1, we hung out with my two favorite Joes: Scholar of the Hero's Journey (and Grandpa in my spiritual family tree) Joseph Campbell, and gritty heroic exemplar (and soul brother), Joe De Sena.   Today I want to spend a little more time with Joe De Sena.   Let's open up his latest book The Spartan Way . Page 14.   He tells us: " Through work and endurance racing I have come to know many...

Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness have written a couple great books together. First, they gave us Peak Performance . Then The Passion Paradox .   Today we're going to talk about one of the central themes of The Passion Paradox . (Tomorrow we'll chat about some goodness from Peak Performance .)   So…   Passion .   It's AWESOME!   Except when it isn't.   Enter: The Passion Paradox .   As Brad and Stev...

In our last +1, we did our best Boss impersonation as we reinterpreted our sweaty palms and racing hearts as a sign we're EXCITED and READY TO GO rather than as a sign that something's wrong.   When I read that passage in Marie's book, I immediately thought of some parallel wisdom from Jon Eliot's Overachievement .   Recall that Eliot is the guy who told us that we want to keep our V-12 engines an...

A few +1s ago, we had fun chatting about the starting and finish lines of my first business, eteamz.    I mentioned that it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows and we briefly discussed the fact that I've failed WAY MORE times than I've succeeded.   (btw. As a recovering fixed-mindset perfectionist, it was therapeutic for me to type that. Hah. Seriously.)   Today we're going to remind ourselves to emb...

We talk a lot about the futility of arguing with reality.   As Byron Katie so perfectly says, "When I argue with reality I lose. But only 100% of the time." (Hah.)   Today we're going to take another look at that wisdom from a slightly different angle.   We'll invite a couple of modern Zen Masters to the party: Joko Beck and Phil Jackson.   We'll start with legendary basketball coach Phil Jackson'...

In our last +1, we spent some time with Todd Herman, Batman, Dora the Explorer and YOUR most heroic self.   Today we're going to connect all that goodness to wisdom from the classic peak-performance book The Inner Game of Tennis by Tim Gallwey.   Here's how he puts it: "'Asking for qualities' describes the other kind of role-playing. When introducing this idea, I usually say something like this: '...

In our last +1, we revisited Ellen Langer at her "Psychology of Possibility" lab at Harvard to learn that words matter.    As you may recall, simply priming people with words associated with old age (via a crossword puzzle!) will cause them to walk more slowly to the elevator than those who weren't primed with those words.   *rubs eyes*   One more time: Astonishing, eh?    And…   One more time: WO...

Geoff Colvin's Talent Is Overrated is a great book.   It falls into the "Effort Counts Twice" / Deliberate Practice bucket of how to reach our Peak via Grit , etc.   It's packed with great stories about, as per the sub-title of the book: "What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else."   (Here's a short hint to the answer: "No matter who they were, or what explanation of their p...

The other day I found myself re-reading our Notes on Christopher McDougall's great book Natural Born Heroes.   Although we've talked (many times) about the fact that the ancient word for hero literally meant "protector," I realized that (somehow!) I've never shared McDougall's brilliant wisdom that catalyzed my emphasis on the whole idea of all of us becoming modern heroes.   So…   Let's take a qu...

As we've discussed, a mantra is literally "a tool of the mind."   By repeating a mantra over and over and over again (spiritual teachers say!), it takes hold in our subconscious and subtly shapes our mind.   Eknath Easwaran is a huge fan and advocate of mantras. He sold me on their power years ago and I've experimented with many but I haven't really found one that stuck.    Until now…   I think I...

Not too long ago, we talked about Sleep Curfews . Five of them, to be precise.    One for Caffeine . Another for Exercise . Plus Eating . Plus Screens . Plus Work .   As you may recall, Caffeine has a half-life of 5 to 6 hours so try to cut back on that by around noon or 2 or whatever you find works best for you.    Exercise late in the day gets your core temperature all jacked up when it should b...

In our last +1, we talked about A World With out Heroes and the fact that " A hero sacrifices for the greater good. A hero is true to his or her conscience. In short, heroism means doing the right thing regardless of the consequences."   Then we challenged ourselves to choose THIS DAY (!) to be one of them.   Today we're going to talk about some more brilliant metaphorical wisdom from Brandon Mull...

Ryan is one of my absolute favorite writers and I'm excited to sit down with him to chat about his latest book, Stillness is the Key. One of the testimonials in the front of the book perfectly captures my sentiment. Screenwriter and director Brian Koppelman (Rounders, Ocean's Thirteen and Billions) puts it this way: "I don't have many rules in life, but one I never break is: If Ryan Holiday writes...

Not too long ago we talked about the fact that the word prosperity literally means "to go forward with hope."    Then, as you may recall, I challenged us to take some time to create a prospectus that inspires us to invest in the project that is our masterpiece lives such that we consistently MOVE FORWARD WITH HOPE.   Then…   I realized that this is pretty much exactly what we're trying to do with...

One of the core themes of our work together (in these +1s and in our Coach program, etc.) is the power of constantly (!) experimenting as we find little ways to Optimize.    All day. Every day.    Repeat.    (Again.) (And again.) (And again!)   All done with a big eudaimonically joyful smile—as if we're playing the greatest game ever created. (Which, of course, we are. )   So…   We've called it a...

In one of our very first Notes, we took a quick look at Brendan Brazier's The Thrive Diet .    I read the book when it came out nearly a dozen years ago. Loved it. Then Brendan and I met at an event, became friends, etc.   If you're looking for ideas on how to be a high-performance plant-based athlete/human, I think you'll enjoy Brenden  and his work. He's a former professional endurance athlete a...