You Are Heroic with Brian Johnson

Latest Episodes:

+1: The Secret to Being Miserable (#1325) Nov 06, 2022

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And Its Antidote (Found in Spit!) In our last +1, we spent a little more time with Brian Cain and his wisdom on the fact that "depression is obsession with the past, anxiety is obsession about the future, and optimal performance is obsession about the present." All of which begged the question: What are YOU obsessed about these days? And… All of that led to my admonition to activate our Soul Force by getting our Energy to Heroic levels and Focusing it on What's Important NOW all day every day. Today I want to revisit the topic and bring another peak performance guru to the party to share HIS wisdom on the subject. We'll go old school and invite Dale Carnegie to join us. As you almost certainly know, Carnegie wrote one of the all-time best-selling personal development books How to Win Friends and Influence People. He wrote that book in 1936. It's sold over 30 million copies. (Check out the Notes for more.) What you may not know is that he wrote another great book called How to Stop Worrying and Start Living. That book was written in 1948. 6 million copies of that book have been sold as well. (Check out the Notes for more.) In How to Stop Worrying and Start Living, Carnegie echoes Cainer's wisdom about focusing on the PRESENT to deal with any potential depression and anxiety. He tells us: "George Bernard Shaw was right. He summed it all up when he said: 'The secret of being miserable is to have the leisure to bother about whether you are happy or not.' So don't bother to think about it! Spit on your hands and get busy. Your blood will start circulating; your mind will start ticking—and pretty soon this whole positive upsurge of life in your body will drive worry from your mind. Get busy. Keep busy. It's the cheapest kind of medicine there is on this earth—and one of the best." There ya go. Feeling stressed? Perfect. That's part of a good, noble life. The moment you quit thinking you should be exonerated from the pain of uncertainty and the pain of hard work will be one of the most powerful, antifragile confidence-building moments of your life! Now… Spit on your hands and get busy doing your best at whatever is in front of you. RIGHT. NOW. Gremlins come back to the party a minute or three later? Perfect. Repeat. Get back to work. Focusing your Energy on What's Important Now. Not once in a while and not only when you feel like it. All day, every day. Especially when? TODAY.

+1: Your Obsession? (#1324) Nov 05, 2022

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Past? Future? Present? = Depression, Anxiety, Optimal Performance Not too long ago, we spent some time with my friend Brian Cain—who happens to be, in my opinion, at least tied for first as THE world's best mental toughness coach. One particular line from his 10 Pillars of Mental Performance Mastery has been popping up in my brain and I want to make sure we take a moment to chat about it. Here it is. Brian tells us (via Coach Kenny in his fable): "Remember, depression is obsession with the past, anxiety is obsession about the future, and optimal performance is obsession about the present." Let's think about that for a moment… Depression is obsession about the PAST. Anxiety is obsession about the FUTURE. Optimal performance? That requires an obsession with the PRESENT. Of course, that's a deliberately hyperbolic oversimplification of depression and anxiety. And… It's a powerful perspective. All of which begs the question: What are YOU obsessed about these days? I repeat: "Remember, depression is obsession with the past, anxiety is obsession about the future, and optimal performance is obsession about the present." Here's to activating our Soul Force by getting our Energy to Heroic levels and Focusing it on What's Important NOW all day every day. Especially, as always, TODAY. Anxiety and depression BEGONE. Optimal performance LET'S GO!!

+1: A Heroic Meditation (#1323) Nov 04, 2022

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We Love You… Let's GO! In our last +1, we talked about the fact that I'm hitting 101 Heroic Targets a day so I can keep my daimon in play. You try it yet? Of course, as I've said many times, you don't need to be quite as crazy and ALL IN as I am to get the benefits of using the Heroic app. Early research shows that hitting as few as THREE Heroic Targets a day can boost your Energy 40%, your Productivity 20% and your Connection 15%—all in a few minutes on the app per day. Why does the Heroic app work so powerfully? Because there's E X T R A O R D I N A R Y power in living our lives with a clear intention and shining the spotlight of our attention on the things that matter most. Then, of course, DOING the things that are in integrity with that vision of our best selves. Not once in a while but EVERY.SINGLE.DAY. Now… One of the Heroic Energy Targets I commit to every morning these days is: "Cold Plunge (2:43 after 30)" That's short-hand for: Get in the cold plunge for 2 minutes and 43 seconds after your 30 minute AM workout. Why 2:43? Because we love you. I actually do that twice a day—once after my AM workout and the second time an hour or two before I go to bed. Why 2:43 x 2? Because 2 x 2 min and 43 seconds is about 5.51 minutes and, well, everything I do is tied back to my purpose of helping create a world in which 51% of humanity is flourishing by the year 2051. Now… On to the point of Today's +1. I came up with a little 2 minute and 43 second Heroic meditation that I do every time I hop in the cold plunge. It goes like this. First, I take a deep breath before I get in to the cold plunge. In through the nose, down into the belly, back out through the nose—exhale slightly longer than the inhale… Optimal Breathing 101 style. You know the drill. Before we go further… To be VERY clear, I never really want to hop in the cold. Getting in 51-57 degree water is never a particularly pleasant experience. But, I do it because a) I like building the habit of doing things I don't like to do and b) I know the benefits of cold are extraordinary (see Notes on The Wim Hof Method!) so I move through my resistance and get in. I do a little "5-4-3-2-1!" countdown and… I'M IN. Then… My 2:43 Heroic Meditation begins. I start by saying each virtue. Wisdom. Self-Mastery. Love. Courage. Gratitude. Hope. Curiosity. Zest. Then I say an affirmation for each virtue. I am Wise. I am Disciplined. I am Loving. I am Courageous. I am Grateful. I am Hopeful. I am Curious. I am Zesty. Then I say the declaration for each virtue. I know the game I'm playing and how to play it well. I have structural, reactive, and expansive discipline. I am connected, joyful, and encouraging. I am willing to act in the presence of fear. I appreciate all the blessings and gifts in my life. I have an inspiring target, agency, and pathways. I pay attention to what's working and what needs work. I dominate my fundamentals so I have Heroic Energy. Then I repeat each virtue. Wisdom. Self-Mastery. Love. Courage. Gratitude. Hope. Curiosity. Zest. Then I think of my tattoos as I remind myself of our ultimate mission: "Hero, I see a world in which 51% of humanity is flourishing by 2051. My Soul Force is at 101 and I'm helping 1 million people get THEIR Soul Force to 101 so we can change the world together." Then I say to myself: "All in. Let's go!!!" Then I get out of the cold, dry off and get back to dominating my day. That's a 2 minute, 43 second version of a Heroic meditation. All in. Day 1. Let's go!

+1: My Top 3 Energy Targets (#1322) Nov 03, 2022

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It's Hard to Have a Bad Day When I Hit These (Yours?) Every day I hit 101 Targets in the Heroic App. As I joke with our team and with some friends, "101 Targets a day keeps the daimon in play!" I can assure you that it's *really* hard to have a *really* bad day when you start your day recommitting to being your best self in your Energy, Work, and Love and then do 101 things you KNOW help you stay plugged in. But… Don't take my word for it. Test it! Now… I recommit to over 30 Heroic Energy Targets every morning. I've basically breadcrumbed my day with what I KNOW I do when I'm at my best so I can make that prior best my new baseline. My #1 Energy Target? "In Bed for 9-10 Hours" I haven't missed that ONCE since we launched the app. Sleep is a sport for me and THAT (process!) Target is the #1 reason why my (outcome Target!) average Oura Sleep Score has been 90+ every month for nearly 2 years. For curious souls, my current Heroic Energy Top 3 includes: I. In Bed for 9-10 Hours II. AM Meditation (1%) III. Movement (30 Min) Just hitting THOSE three Targets would be enough to keep me feeling pretty darn Zesty and provide bumper rails to make sure I never got too off track. But, of course, I'm not trying to keep myself on track, I'm trying to see just how Heroically I can show up and just how much Soul Force I can activate as I strive to help YOU show up with a fully-activated Soul Force of 101! Which is why I also recommit to a Digital Sunset, PM Meditation (1%), my 1 Sun Salutation, 10 Pull-ups, 100 Burpees, 1,000 Meters of Rowing, 10,000 Steps and a couple dozen other targets. But that's not quite the point of this +1. When I started writing it I planned to share a new 2 minute and 43 second Heroic meditation with you but I'll save that for our next +1. Today's +1 is this… What are YOUR Top 3 Heroic Energy Targets? What are the THREE simple things you do when YOU are plugged in and at your most-Heroically-Energized best? Seriously. What are they? REMEMBER!!! (Yes, I'm shouting.) Life doesn't need to be so hard. We just need to step back from TikTok and the latest must-see Netflix show for a moment or three, get clarity on who we are and what we do when we're at our best and then… BE THAT best version of ourselves and DO THE THINGS that best version of ourselves does!! As always… Not once in a while and DEFINITELY not only when we feel like it. Nope… All day, EVERY day ESPECIALLY on those days when we don't feel like it. THAT, I repeat, is how we develop the antifragile confidence to KNOW that we have what it takes to show up and respond to every challenge life throws at us while we give the world all we've got. Of course, we architected the E N T I R E Heroic app to help you move from Theory to Practice to Mastery TODAY but whether you choose to use our tools or some other set of tools, please please please please please take the time to get clear on who you are at your best then recommit to being that version of yourself and doing the things that best version of you does TODAY. We need you at your Heroic best. Day 1. All in. Let's GO!!!

+1: 101 x 1M → 51 | 2051 (#1321) Nov 02, 2022

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In Permanent Ink Somewhere I'll Never Miss It Today I want to chat about how I spent last Father's Day with the kids. Hint: We went to Blindside Tattoo in Austin, Texas to add some Heroic targets to my forearm in permanent ink. Before we go there… As you may recall, in our last +1, we talked about Admiral McRaven's Hero Code and the virtue of perseverance. He told us about the fact that it was PERSEVERANCE that helped many of our favorite Heroes weather the inevitable storms of their Heroic quests en route to the summit of fulfilling their Missions. I think this is so good that it's worth repeating: "George Washington was defeated on the battlefield more times than he won. Abraham Lincoln lost eight elections before he won the presidency. Thomas Edison failed ten thousand times before inventing the lightbulb. Henry Ford had two failed companies before he found success. J. K. Rowling was destitute before she got the first Harry Potter book published, and Oprah Winfrey had an extremely difficult childhood before finding her way. Martin Luther King once famously said, 'If you can't fly, run. If you can't run, walk. If you can't walk, crawl. But by all means, keep moving.'" Now… As I read that passage and reflected on the power of perseverance, I also thought about the fantastic ancient Sanskrit word for being a hero in the beginning: arambhashura. As Eknath Easwaran tells us in Conquest of Mind: "In Sanskrit we have a word which means "heroes at the beginning": people who take up a job with a fanfare of trumpets but soon find that their enthusiasm has tiptoed down the back stair. Those who go far in meditation are the ones who keep on plugging. They may not be very spectacular; they may never hear a trumpet. But they keep on trying day in and day out, giving their best in every situation and relationship, never giving up. Such people are bound to reach their goal." And… Now, it's time for that fun trip with the kids Father's Day trip to Blindside Tattoo with the kids. I created my Note on The Hero Code on the Monday after Father's Day. On Father's Day, I took Emerson and Eleanor with me to go get a tattoo. (Yes, that's like me! Hah.) As you know if you've been following along, I have "ARETÉ" tattooed on my right forearm to remind me to practice my philosophy as I strive to close the always-present gap between who I'm capable of being and who I'm actually being in any given moment. I tattooed "HEROIC" on my left forearm along with the numbers "51 | 2051" to capture the ultimate mission to which I've dedicated my life: playing my role as humbly yet heroically well as I can to help create a world in which 51% of humanity is flourishing by 2051. On Father's Day 2022, the kids and I went on a little adventure to add "101 | 1M" next to the "51 | 2051." The "101" represents my commitment to doing everything in my power to get my Soul Force to 101 so I can help YOU get YOUR Soul Force (as measured in the Heroic app!) to 101. The "1M" represents the first million people I'm committed to doing everything in my power to help get to a Soul Force score of 101 so we can have a shot at that 51 | 2051. As we've discussed, science says we increase our odds of achieving our goals by about 42% if we write them down. So… I figured I'd write my most important goals somewhere I'd never miss them and let them serve as a constant reminder to PERSEVERE (just one step at a time!) through all the inevitable obstacles in a good heroic quest. Every morning I start my meditation by looking at down at my arm and saying to myself, "Hero, I see a world in which 51% of humanity is flourishing by 2051. Let's get our Soul Force to 101 and help 1M people do the same and we have a shot at fulfilling our mission." 101 x 1M → 51 | 2051 All in. Day 1. Here's to PERSEVERING through the inevitable storms on our Heroic quests as we take JUST ONE MORE STEP… Today. + + +

+1: On Perseverance (#1320) Nov 01, 2022

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Did You Know That George Washington… In our last couple +1s, we chatted about Admiral McRaven's and Ryan Holiday's take on Courage. Remember: Courage is calling. All we need to do is take JUST ONE STEP. Today I want to explore some more wisdom from McRaven's great new book, The Hero Code. As you may recall, The Hero Code has ten virtues: Courage. Humility. Sacrifice. Integrity. Compassion. Perseverance. Duty. Hope. Humor. Forgiveness. Let's shine a spotlight on the sixth virtue, Perseverance. We'll invite Admiral McRaven back to the party to share his wisdom on the subject. He tells us: "I believe history will show that success is not just a function of brains or brawn, of talent or intellect, of skill or resourcefulness, but of perseverance. Genius without resolve is just another passing person with a bright idea. Athletic prowess without determination is just another talent wasted. The world is filled with men and women who amounted to nothing because they gave up on their dreams: because they didn't have the guts, the determination, the willpower to keep going—no matter what. But history is equally replete with heroes who fought through the challenges, persevered, and made a difference. George Washington was defeated on the battlefield more times than he won. Abraham Lincoln lost eight elections before he won the presidency. Thomas Edison failed ten thousand times before inventing the lightbulb. Henry Ford had two failed companies before he found success. J. K. Rowling was destitute before she got the first Harry Potter book published, and Oprah Winfrey had an extremely difficult childhood before finding her way. Martin Luther King once famously said, 'If you can't fly, run. If you can't run, walk. If you can't walk, crawl. But by all means, keep moving.'" Perseverance. It does a noble Hero good. That first paragraph reminds me of this classic Calvin Coolidge wisdom: "Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination are omnipotent. The slogan 'press on' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race." And, although I knew about Lincoln's failures and J. K. Rowling's challenges before Harry Potter success (check out our Notes on Leadership in Turbulent Times for more on Lincoln and our collection of Notes on all the Harry Potter books here), I never knew that about George Washington. Isn't it fascinating to imagine him losing more battles than he won?! Thank you, George, for persevering. (Seriously. Thank you, sir. I don't take the freedom my country affords me for granted as I know that you fought for SEVEN YEARS to fulfill the Declaration of Independence. ) And… THAT's Today's +1. Perseverance. It does a noble Hero good. Let's take just ONE more step. Today. +1. +1. +1.

+1: Courage Is Calling (#1319) Oct 31, 2022

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Answer the Call, Hero! In our last +1, we talked about virtue #1 in Admiral McRaven's Hero Code. COURAGE. I reminded us of the fact that Aristotle told us that courage is the most important virtue—the one that vitalizes all the other virtues. Why? Because… If we don't have the COURAGE to take action in the presence of fear, then all of our supposed Wisdom and Self-Mastery and Love and Gratitude and Hope and Curiosity and Zest is stuck in Theory-land and is, to put it bluntly, USELESS if we don't have the courage to put it into practice. Churchill echoed that wisdom when he told us that: "Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities, because it is the quality which guarantees the rest." Note: Churchill also EMBODIED that Heroic Courage in the face of overwhelming odds and looming catastrophe during World War II. We, arguably, have HIM (and his tenacious (!) courage) to thank most for leading in such turbulent times to help create the world we live in today. And… Today I'd like to talk more about Ryan Holiday's take on the subject of courage. So… Let's. As you know if you've been following along, Ryan Holiday is one of my all-time favorite writers and thinkers. My respect for him and for his dedication to his craft as a writer and a practicing Stoic grows with each new book of his I read. So far, we've covered The Obstacle Is the Way, The Daily Stoic, Ego Is the Enemy, and Stillness Is the Key. They are all fantastic. As expected, the first book in his new virtue series on THE most essential virtue: Courage Is Calling is ALSO fantastic. The book is packed with practical wisdom on why and HOW to embody Heroic courage. Here's one passage we can reflect on today… Ryan tells us: "Courage is the management of and triumph over fear. It's the decision—in a moment of peril, or day in and day out—to take ownership, to assert agency, over a situation, over yourself, over the fate that everyone else has resigned themselves to. We can curse the darkness, or we can light a candle. We can wait for someone else to come and save us, or we can decide to stand and deliver ourselves. Which will it be? Every hero faces this choice. Our discrimen—the critical turning point. The moment of truth. Will you be brave? Will you put yourself out there? What will you reveal your character to be? If cowardice is failure to do your duty, then courage is the decision to step up and do it. Answering the call. Overriding fear and seizing your destiny. Doing the thing you cannot do because it needs to be done . . . with fortitude and spirit, guts and grit, even if you have no idea if you'll succeed. This will not be easy. But we cannot fear. We must, as Shakespeare said, 'meet the time as it seeks us.' Our destiny is here. Let's seize it." That's Today's +1. Courage is calling. Let's answer the call. TOGETHER. Today.

+1: Feeling Fear? (#1318) Oct 30, 2022

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Take JUST ONE STEP Forward Today In our last +1, we spent some time with one of my heroes, Admiral William H. McRaven as we soaked our souls in wisdom from his newest book: The Hero Code. As you may recall, McRaven's Hero Code has ten core virtues: Courage. Humility. Sacrifice. Integrity. Compassion. Perseverance. Duty. Hope. Humor. Forgiveness. Today I want to talk about the #1 virtue: COURAGE. Let's talk about one of THE most powerful ways to operationalize that virtue. Here's how Admiral McRaven puts it: "None of us are immune from life's pain and disappointment. But if you doubt for even a second that you have the courage necessary to confront the evil in the world or that weakness that resides deep inside all of us—you're wrong. ... We all have our lines in the sand, those fears that keep us from being courageous. But all you have to do to overcome those fears, those obstacles, those challenges in your life is to take one step forward. Just one. Take one step forward and get on the helicopter. Take one step forward and fight injustice. Take one step forward and challenge the bullies. Take one step forward and face your inner demons. And if you take that one step forward you will find the courage you seek, the courage necessary to overcome your fears and be the hero you long to be." As we've discussed many times, the word courage comes from the same root as heart. Just as the heart pumps blood to your arms and legs and vital organs, courage is the virtue that vitalizes all the other virtues. The best way to cultivate our courage? Science agrees with McRaven's approach. As we discuss in our Notes on The Courage Quotient by Robert Biswas-Diener, we need to be willing to act in the presence of fear. And, as we discuss in various places we need to APPROACH our challenges rather than AVOID them. And… As McRaven puts it: "all you have to do to overcome those fears, those obstacles, those challenges in your life is to take one step forward." Now… One of the (many!) reasons I love creating these +1s and the Notes is that I get to go back through my favorite passages and, as I type each word out, really *feel* the intention and the nuance of the author's wisdom. As I typed that passage out, I was struck by the way McRaven emphasized "Just one." "We all have our lines in the sand, those fears that keep us from being courageous. But all you have to do to overcome those fears, those obstacles, those challenges in your life is to take one step forward. Just one." When we face the inevitable obstacles and challenges of life and feel the inevitable fears that arise in those situations, all we need to do is take JUST ONE step forward. JUST ONE step forward in that moment when you tend to freeze or to freak out. JUST ONE step forward—approaching your challenges rather than avoiding them. JUST ONE step forward—saying "Bring it on!" rather than "Make it go away!" That is the essence of courage. A willingness to act in the presence of fear, to APPROACH rather than avoid our challenges—not once in a while or when you feel like it but more and more consistently all day every day ESPECIALLY when you don't feel like it—knowing that your infinite, HEROIC potential exists just on the other side of your comfort zone as you cultivate the strength for two and give us all you've got. Let's take JUST ONE step forward today, my beloved Hero. Just one step forward. TOGETHER. (!!!) Today. +1. +1. +1.

+1: The Hero Code (#1317) Oct 29, 2022

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McRaven's Ten Core Virtues Admiral William H. McRaven is one of my very few living American heroes. We've created Notes on three of his great books. We started with Make Your Bed—a short, brilliant, inspiring manual all about "Little Things That Can Change Your Life... And Maybe the World" that was inspired by the commencement address he gave at the University of Texas at Austin that went viral. Then we featured his autobiography, Sea Stories, which is all about the wisdom he gained from his nearly four decades in special operations. So… When I saw the title to his newest book, I KNEW I had to read it and I KNEW I'd love it. The book? It's called The Hero Code. It's a super-quick reading, incredibly inspiring look at "Lessons Learned from Lives Well Lived" in which Admiral McRaven walks us through the lives of everyday heroes who showed up and gave us all they had. I highly recommend it. (Get a copy here.) McRaven tells us: "I came to realize that there is a hero in all of us. There is an innate code that has been there since the birth of mankind. It is written in our DNA. It is what drove the great expansion of humanity out of Africa. It summoned the explorers to cross the deserts and the seas. It helped create the great faiths. It emboldened the early scientists and philosophers. It nurtured the ill and infirm. It spoke truth to masses. It brought order to chaos and hope to the desperate. This code is not a cipher, or a cryptograph, or a puzzle to be solved. It is a moral code, an internal code of conduct that drives the human race to explore, to nurture, to comfort, to inspire, and to laugh so that societies can flourish." The Hero Code. Admiral McRaven tells us that it is a moral code and, in the book, walks us through ten of the core virtues that make up the code as he shares the story of an everyday hero who embodied that particular virtue. Each virtue has its own commitment. Here they are. "I will always strive to be COURAGEOUS; to take one step forward as I confront my fears. I will work to be HUMBLE; to recognize the limits of my intellect, my understanding, and my power. I will learn to SACRIFICE by giving a little of my time, my talent, and my treasure to those in need. I will be a person of INTEGRITY; every decision I make and every action I take will be moral, legal, and ethical. I will be kind and COMPASSIONATE to at least one person every single day and expect nothing in return. I will never give up on matters that are important to me, my family, my country, my faith. I will PERSEVERE. Whatever job I am given, whatever DUTY I am bound by, I will do it to the best of my ability. I will use my unique talents to inspire others and give them HOPE that tomorrow will be a better day. I will use HUMOR to comfort others, and never be afraid to laugh at myself. No matter how great or small the offense against me, I will FORGIVE. I will be the victor, not the victim." To repeat. The Hero Code has ten core virtues: Courage. Humility. Sacrifice. Integrity. Compassion. Perseverance. Duty. Hope. Humor. Forgiveness. How are YOU doing with each? Anything jump out that might be working really well for you? How about anything that might need a little (or a lot!) of work from you? Here's to living in integrity with our highest values, Hero. Not someday. But, as always, TODAY. +1. +2. +3. +4. +5. +6. +7. +8. +9. +10.

+1: How to Flip the Switch and GO! (#1316) Oct 28, 2022

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Red Lights? GREEN LIGHTS! We've been having some fun exploring Brian Cain's wisdom on mental performance mastery. As you know if you've been following along, we started by checking in to see if you've been punched in the face lately (), then we broke some arrows with our neck to dominate the Ability + Strategy + GOYA = Results equation, then we did some 1% math (remember: 1% is 14 minutes and 24 seconds of your day and, if you get 1% better every day, you'll be 998,822,690,009,590 times better in a decade! ) then we questioned why we'd want to be average, then we raised the basement, and, most recently, we focused our telescopes AND our microscopes on our top goals so we can dominate the day AND the decade. Schew. We've been busy! +1% +1% +1% for the win! Today I want to wrap up the tour through Brian's brain with one more Big Idea from 10 Pillars. This one's on how to flip the switch and go from red lights to green lights. Here's Brian and the characters from his little fable to bring the wisdom home… "I felt as if I understood the difference between a red-light and green-light state. I wanted to learn how to get into a green-light state and stay there. 'You recognize that if you are in a red-light state or a yellow-light state, you must have a release routine to get you back to green and back in control of yourself. That release routine follows a three-step process,' Coach Kenny said. 'You need to have (#1) a physical action that you make with an association that serves as a trigger for releasing the past and moving on to the next play or the next part of your day. You then (#2) take a deep releasing breath that you take while looking at a fixed point we call a focal point to oxygenate your brain and get back in control of yourself. And then you (#3) have a verbal trigger you say that cuts off the past and cements your commitment to the present.' Coach Kenny then stood up, clapped his hands, took a deep breath, wiped his chest down with his hands as if he were wiping dirt off himself and said, "GOOD. What's important now?'" That's from a chapter on Pillar #4: Self-Control and Discipline. It's kinda like our "Flip the Switch" protocol in our Mastery Series. Here's the quick take… Feeling disconnected from your best self? PERFECT. Awareness is *always* the first, most important step. Now, flip the switch and go from red lights to green lights as you invite the best, most Heroic version of yourself back to the party. Here's one way to approach it: #1. Stand up strong. Chest up, chin down. Smile. #2. Take a deep breath. In through the nose. Down into your belly. Back out through your nose. Exhale slightly longer than your inhale. Ahhhh… #3. Say to yourself: "Close the Gap. Arete = Heroic." (Or... "What do I want? What's important now? LET'S GO!" Or... "Calm Confidence. I've got this!" Or… Whatever fires YOU up!) Today's +1? The VERY NEXT TIME you feel a little wobbly today, how about you flip the switch and go from red to green lights and have fun seeing just how fast you can do it? #1. Stand up strong—chest up, chin down. Smile. #2. Take a deep breath. #3. Say to yourself: "Arete = Heroic. What's important now? LET'S GO!" Red lights? GREEN LIGHTS! LET'S GO! + + + P.S. Want to see some of Brian's elite athletes putting this wisdom in PRACTICE to create moments of peak performance? Awesome. Check out these clips!!

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