You Are Heroic with Brian Johnson

In our last +1, we talked about the Optimize Master's program (aka  Optimize Coach !) and had fun with some wisdom on moving from theory to practice—reminding ourselves that the theory (although important!) is just the rudimentary stuff. The ADVANCED work is the actual PRACTICE.   Here's what was kinda weird.   As I was drafting that +1, I was doing some quick key word searches on my Mac to find t...

In our last +1, we talked about our inaugural Optimize Coach program (there's still a little more time to sign up and join hundreds of other passionate Optimizers in making this the greatest year of our lives while helping others in our lives do the same, btw).   Specifically, we discussed the very first email we send out with the very first micro-exercise to invite Optimus Us to the party.   It g...

In our last +1, we took a nice stroll down Brian's Biographical Byway—exploring the power of flipping Identity switches. (You make any distinctions? Flip any switches?)   btw: That Seneca quote with which we wrapped up that +1 always knocks my socks off: " It is not because things are difficult that you do not dare. It is because you do not dare that things are difficult."    Today I want to go ba...

In our last +1, we talked about how to make yourself a quadrillion (!!!) times better. The recap there: Just let the magic of compounding 1% gains work for you. Every day. 10 years. Boom!   Of course the fine print includes the fact that, although inspiring, that's (obviously) pretty much impossible as NO ONE, not even the best among us, are perfect ( thanks, Maslow!) and we won't be the first. Bu...

In our last +1, we talked about how the Peak Performance guys recommend we craft our optimal work-to-rest ratio.    Pop quiz: You recall the ratio?    Pop answer: 50 to 90 minutes ON. 7 to 20 minutes OFF. Making nice rhythmic waves…   (More importantly: You practice it yesterday?)   Today, as promised, I want to talk about the importance of creating boundaries lest we teeter into the realm of burn...

Continuing (and concluding) our trip through Steve Chandler's wise brain (and great book, Reinventing Yourself ), let's talk about campfires.   Campfires ? Yep. Campfires.    So… You're out camping. It's night time. You light a fire. It keeps you warm. You wake up the next morning. The fire is out. You'll need to light another fire tonight to get warm again.   Now, do you complain about the fact t...

Arianna Huffington (CEO of Thrive and co-founder + editor in chief of The Huffington Post) went from being a sleep-deprived executive to a sleep evangelist after passing out and banging her head following years of a grueling work! In this book, she brilliantly walks us through the crisis we're facing, the history of sleep, the science of sleep and, most importantly, what we can do to Optimize our...

Ready to make 2019 the Greatest Year of Your Life? Me, too. It's time to Operationalize Virtue—getting (even more) clarity on what our Optimus selves look like and getting even better at consistently showing up AS that best version of ourselves. In this class, we review why we do what we do together, take a quick trip to hell (yikes!) then to Michelangelo's studio (yay!) then we get to work sculpt...

Dr. Mercola is a super-popular alternative health physician who runs the equally popular site Mercola.com. In this book, we get a look at his "Mitochondrial Metabolic Therapy" program. MMT for short. As you could probably guess, this is a high-fat (+ "adequate" protein + low-carb) diet. If that approach fires you up, I think you'll love the book. If not, well… :) Big Ideas we explore include: meet...

In our last +1, we talked about LeBron James and the fact that he tries to get 11 to 12 hours of sleep per day when he's training. (So does Roger Federer. And, Tom Brady is in bed at 8:30. )    Let's talk about LeBron a little more today.    Renowned mental toughness coach Bob Rotella kicks off his book How Champions Think with a story about how LeBron thinks.    It goes something like this.   Onc...

Susan Peirce Thompson is a Professor of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at the University of Rochester. She's an expert in the psychology of eating and creator of Bright Line Eating Solutions, "a company dedicated to helping people achieve long-term, sustainable weight loss." Plus... She used to be obese and, as she says, addicted to *everything.* She integrates her background in neuroscience with he...

Solitude. It's the secret sauce to leadership. But... In their great book Raymond Kethledge and Michael Erwin tells us: "Solitude is a state of mind, a space where you can focus on your own thoughts without distraction, with a power to bring mind and soul together in clear-eyed conviction. Like a great wave that saturates everything in its path, however, handheld devices and other media now leave...

Today I'd like to talk about a little more wisdom from Seth Godin's Icarus Deception .    As we've discussed, his book (and his entire body of work for that matter), is basically a plea for us to step up and into our highest potential.    He tells us: "Your ability to follow directions is not the secret to your success. You are hiding your best work, your best insight, and your best self from us e...

Robert Lustig is a Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology and a member of the Institute for Health Policy Studies at University of California, San Francisco. He has authored 120 peer-reviewed articles and 70 reviews and is a leading voice on childhood obesity. And, his YouTube video "Sugar: The Bitter Truth" has been viewed over 7 million times. Obesity is a global pandemic. It's...

With all this talk about sports heroes and scoring touchdowns and winning forever, I think it's time to remind ourselves that sports simply provide the perfect (over-simplified) context for SPIRITUAL truths.    That's why we love watching the Olympics, Super Bowls and World Cups so much. When we watch an athlete performing at their absolute ( optimus !) best we're simply reminded of our own heroic...

Elizabeth Blackburn won the Nobel Prize for her discovery of telemorase - "the enzyme that replenishes telomeres, which protect our genetic heritage." Elissa Epel is one of the world's leading health psychology researcher. Together, they have created a great book that walks us through the best of what we know about telomeres, why they're so important and what we can do to Optimize them. If you've...

A couple +1s ago, we talked about Optimizer Jessica's kind words and then had fun talking about Mr. Anonymous Troll Guy as well.   Today I want to talk about a line from Jessica's little note that I didn't share before.    In addition to her kind words about my commitment to sharing my own struggles and how that has helped her build resilience, she said this: "Furthermore, the partnership he and A...

James Clear has a super-popular website (jamesclear.com). Millions of people visit it every month and hundreds of thousands subscribe to his email newsletter. After reading this book, I can see why. He's a great writer and distills the essence of habit formation into, well, its fundamental components—the "atomic" structure if you will—while showing us how those TINY little incremental improvements...

Optimize: https://optimize.me/ (← Get Free Stuff + Free 2-Week Trial!) Optimize Coach: https://optimize.me/coach (← Join 2,000+ Optimizers from 70+ Countries!) Here are 5 of my favorite Big Ideas from "Atomic Habits" by James Clear. Hope you enjoy! James Clear has a super-popular website (jamesclear.com). Millions of people visit it every month and hundreds of thousands subscribe to his email news...