You Are Heroic with Brian Johnson

Latest Episodes:

#1: Project: Strength for 2 + Handbook + Nextcitement + ... (#54) Sep 27, 2020

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In this Sunday edition, we talk about doubling my basic training protocol (it's the 200 burpees and 20k steps a day that provide the best challenge!) and some iterative creative progress on the book. As always: Get instant (free) access to all 600+ PhilosophersNotes AND all 50 Optimal Living 101 classes AND 1,000+ Optimize +1s as part of our free 2-week trial: http://optimize.me/

#1: Tour: Outdoor office: "Before" view (#53) Sep 26, 2020

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Weekend edition: Today we take a quick trip to the back of the property for a "Before" look at what (Deo Volente) will soon be an awesome outdoor office. Fun. :)

PNTV: Everything Is Figureoutable by Marie Forleo (#414) Sep 26, 2020

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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 Everything Is Figureoutable by Marie Forleo. Hope you enjoy! My wife Alexandra has been a huge fan of Marie's for a long time. I knew she was awesome. But... As I told Alexandra: "I had no idea Marie was THAT awesome!!!" My excuse: I've been in hermit-mode and have done nothing but read books for 5 years (no blogs/videos/etc.) so I wasn't able to get the full sense of Marie's heroically brilliant and grounded and HILARIOUS power until this book came out. I've read and created PhilosophersNotes on well over 500 books. This is one of my ABSOLUTE (!) favorites of all time. I HIGHLY (!!!) recommend it. It's in the same league as some of my other favorites like Deep Work Atomic Habits and The 5 Second Rule. (In fact, on my chalkboard right now, I actually have "EVERYTHING IS FIGUREOUTABLE" right above "5-4-3-2-1-GO!" <- Winning combo!) The book is PACKED (!) with Big Ideas and I'm excited to share a few of my favorites so let's jump straight in! Get Everything Is Figureoutable on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Everything-Figureoutable-Marie-Forleo/dp/0525534997 Learn more about Marie Forleo: https://www.optimize.me/authors/marie-forleo/ ► RELATED RESOURCES: Big Idea 1: "THANKS, MOM!" - PN: Everything Is Figureoutable by Marie Forleo → https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/everything-is-figureoutable-marie-forleo/ Big Idea 2: MAGIC OF BELIEF - PN: The Relaxation Revolution by Herbert Benson → https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-relaxation-revolution-herbert-benson/ - +1: Your Identity = ? | Whether You Think You Can or Think You Can't… (#654) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/your-identity/ - "It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that things are difficult." ~Seneca → https://www.optimize.me/quotes/seneca/19068-it-is-not-because-things-are-difficult-t/ - PN: Letters from a Stoic by Seneca → https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/letters-from-a-stoic-seneca/ Big Idea 3: 42% (!!!) - Optimize Interview: Stillness is the Key with Ryan Holiday → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8GZMsKklPA - +1: Spiritual Windshield Wipers | Eudaimonia, Journaling, and the Science of Writing Down Our Goals (#993) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/spiritual-windshield-wipers/ - +1: Hedonic Eudaimonia | A Close Relative of Flow Junkies (#908) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/hedonic-eudaimonia/ - How to Journal Carpe Diem Style! → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFMOrHcrGWU&t=4s Big Idea 4: 4-LETTER WORD - +1: Can't vs. Won't | Two Four-Letter Words (#986) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/cant-vs-wont/ - +1: Fail Alchemized to FAIL | Fail = Faithful Attempts In Learning! (#988) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/fail-alchemized-to-fail/ - +1: The Growth Mindset | Jordan, Picasso and You (#622) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/the-growth-mindset/ - +1: Mistakes? They're Just Mis-takes | You As the Director of Your Life (#59) - PN: Mindset by Carol Dweck → https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/mindset-carol-dweck/ - +1: Mistake-Learner's High | Enjoy It as You Pursue Audacious Goals and Endlessly Evolve (#370) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/mistake-learners-high/ Big Idea 5: GROWTH ZONE - +1: Your Infinite Potential | And Where to Find It (#4) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/your-infinite-potential/ ► FREE 14-DAY TRIAL: Get the PhilosophersNote on Everything Is Figureoutable and 600+ other books by starting a Free 14-Day trial membership to Optimize: https://www.optimize.me/trial/ ► MORE GOODNESS: - Get the Optimize App for iPhone & iPad: https://www.optimize.me/apps/ - Get the Optimize App for Android: https://www.optimize.me/apps/ - Subscribe to the Optimize Podcast: https://optimize.me/podcast/ - Follow Optimize on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BriantheOptimizer/ - Follow Optimize on Instagram: https://instagram.com/optimize.me/

#1: Stepping into the (re-)new(ed) identity: Philosopher + CEO + Handbook WINs +... (#52) Sep 25, 2020

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Today we have fun with my (re-)new(ed) identity: Philosopher + CEO and some Handbook +1s. As always: Get instant (free) access to all 600+ PhilosophersNotes AND all 50 Optimal Living 101 classes AND 1,000+ Optimize +1s as part of our free 2-week trial: http://optimize.me/

#1: Good bad nights via sleep algorithms (+ v1 OPTIMIZE Handbook cover!) #51 Sep 24, 2020

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Today we take a sneak peek at v1 of the OPTIMIZE Handbook cover and look at some Oura data on a good bad night saved by an algorithm! As always: Get instant (free) access to all 600+ PhilosophersNotes AND all 50 Optimal Living 101 classes AND 1,000+ Optimize +1s as part of our free 2-week trial: http://optimize.me/

#1: Target Practice with Apollo and Handbook scaffolding project COMPLETE! (Yay!) (#50) Sep 23, 2020

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Today we chat about missing the ol' mark on the 3:00 last-input target. And simply recommitting. And... Finished Phase I of the Handbook construction process. Scaffolding is in place. Fired up. (Just noticed this is #50. Time flies when you're having fun!) As always:

Get instant (free) access to all 600+ PhilosophersNotes AND all 50 Optimal Living 101 classes AND 1,000+ Optimize +1s as part of our free 2-week trial: http://optimize.me/

#1: 101 days left in 2020 = LET'S GOOOOO! (What're your wildly important targets?) (#48) Sep 22, 2020

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Did you know there are 101 days left in 2020. Yep. Time to finish strong. I share a little on how I'm going to do that with the Handbook, etc. How about YOU?

#1: Drucker + Pressfield on creativity (aka showing up & doing the work) (#49) Sep 22, 2020

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Afternoon edition of our #1 post 6 hours of DEEP Work on the Handbook. We chat about some creative systems and do the quick Oura review.

PNTV: The Healthy Deviant by Pilar Gerasimo (#412) Sep 22, 2020

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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 The Healthy Deviant by Pilar Gerasimo. Hope you enjoy! I've been eagerly awaiting for my dear friend Pilar Gerasimo to write a book that captures her wisdom on how to Optimize our lives and give the world all we've got. And... The wait is over! Pilar is one of the wisest people I know. Among many other things, she created Experience Life magazine (which currently reaches over 3 million people per year) and is the co-host of the Living Experiment podcast with Dallas Hartwig (co-founder of Whole30). The lead quote for this book perfectly captures the thesis of the book. It's from Jiddu Krishnamurti. He tells us: "It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." Yep. That's about right. In a society in which the VAST majority of us are sick and tired and anxious and depressed and, well, blah... IT IS NO MEASURE OF HEALTH TO BE WELL ADJUSTED TO THAT SICK SOCIETY. (Right?) Enter: The Healthy Deviant. This "Rule Breaker's Guide" is packed with Big Ideas on how we can "Be Healthy in an Unhealthy World." Get The Healthy Deviant on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Healthy-Deviant-Breakers-Guide-Unhealthy/dp/1623174252 Learn more about Pilar Gerasimo: https://www.optimize.me/authors/pilar-gerasimo/ ► RELATED RESOURCES: Big Idea 1: THE UDR - The Living Experiment Podcast Interview (49s) → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JWTNyW_bTQ - "It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." ~Jiddu Krishnamurti → https://www.optimize.me/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/1335215-it-is-no-measure-of-health-to-be-well-adjusted/ Big Idea 2: HEALTHY DEVIANCE - "Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect." ~Mark Twain → https://www.optimize.me/quotes/mark-twain/20637-whenever-you-find-yourself-on-the-side-o/ - PN: Self-Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson → https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/self-reliance-ralph-waldo-emerson/ - +1: The Choice of Hercules | Vice Dressed up as Virtue (#1036) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/the-choice-of-hercules/ - Conquering Cancer 101 + 102 → https://Optimize.me/cancer - PN: Eat, Move, Sleep by Tom Rath → https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/eat-move-sleep-tom-rath/ - +1: The Invisible Gorilla | And the Spotlight of Your Attention (#859) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/the-invisible-gorilla/ Big Idea 3: RENEGADE RITUALS - +1: AM + PM Bookends | How to Create Masterpiece Days: Start Here! (#78) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/am-pm-bookends/ - +1: Micradian Rhythms | The Rhythms of Life: Circadian + Ultradian + Micradian (#283) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/micradian-rhythms/ - +1: Digital Sunset | Bedtime for Your Electronics (#152) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/digital-sunset/ - +1: Cortisol and Melatonin | Teeter Totter Buddies (#1173) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/cortisol-and-melatonin/ - +1: PM Counts Twice | PM → AM + DAY + PM = #carpediem (#1007) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/pm-counts-twice/ - Energy 101 → https://www.optimize.me/master-class/energy-101/ Big Idea 4: DITCH YOUR DIET - +1: Don't Drink Sugar | "The Single-Biggest Thing You Can Do to Improve Your Health" (#1247) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/dont-drink-sugar/ - Optimal Weight 101 → https://www.optimize.me/master-class/optimal-weight-101/ Big Idea 5: SOMETHING WRONG - +1: Make the Connection | What's Working? What Needs Work? (#374) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/make-the-connection/ - Learn more about Pilar and her work at https://TheHealthyDeviant.com/ - Learn more about The Living Experiment Podcast at https://livingexperiment.com/

► FREE 14-DAY TRIAL: Get the PhilosophersNote on Everything Is Figureoutable and 600+ other books by starting a Free 14-Day trial membership to Optimize: https://www.optimize.me/trial/ ► MORE GOODNESS: - Get the Optimize App for iPhone & iPad: https://www.optimize.me/apps/ - Get the Optimize App for Android: https://www.optimize.me/apps/ - Subscribe to the Optimize Podcast: https://optimize.me/podcast/ - Follow Optimize on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BriantheOptimizer/ - Follow Optimize on Instagram: https://instagram.com/optimize.me/

+1: Want to Be the Best? | Godin Says: You Really Can't Try to Do Everything (#1265) Sep 21, 2020

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In our last +1, we got our inner Freak on as we spent some time with Dav!d Rendall and learned to embrace constraints as we reminded ourselves to approach this whole game of life as Optimalists rather than Perfectionists—using our ideals as GUIDING STARS not distant shores. We explored the value of constraints on a high level. I promised to talk about the idea in a little more detail in terms of choosing what we want to do with our lives AND in the day-to-day of actually making things happen. So… Dav!d kicks off the chapter on the power of limiting our options with a quote from Seth Godin who tells us: "You really can't try to do everything, especially if you intend to be the best in the world." Amen. And, as I read this chapter I thought of chats I had back in the day with Steve Chandler when he and I worked 1-on-1. He loved Alan Watts's wisdom that tennis is more fun with a court (constraints!) and Igor Stravinsky's wisdom that "The more constraints one imposes, the more one frees oneself. And the arbitrariness of the constraint serves only to obtain precision in the execution." As I searched the ol' database of 600+ Notes on my Mac to find that Stravinsky quote, I found this parallel wisdom from Austin Kleon's Steal Like an Artist. He tells us: "In this age of information abundance and overload, those who get ahead will be the folks who figure out what to leave out, so they can concentrate on what's really important to them. Nothing is more paralyzing than the idea of limitless possibilities. The idea that you can do anything is absolutely terrifying. The way to get over creative block is to simply place some constraints on yourself. It seems contradictory, but when it comes to creative work, limitations mean freedom... The right constraints can lead to your very best work. My favorite example? Dr. Seuss wrote The Cat in the Hat with only 236 different words, so his editor bet him he couldn't write a book with only 50 different words. Dr. Seuss came back and won the bet with Green Eggs and Ham, one of the bestselling children's books of all time." (btw: As I reread that, I thought of our Note on the brilliant biography Dr. Seuss and Mr. Geisel where we talk about those exact same constraints. Check it out!) As I chat about in our Notes on Steal Like an Artist, I LOVE constraints. They are my friend (when I remember them). Obvious constraints I use creatively include: Each PhilosophersNote is SIX pages long. Not 3 or 8 or 12 or... SIX. The +1s are short and sweet not crazy long. (Except for the rare +11. lol) The Optimal Living 101 classes and Mastery Series sessions? They're each 10 Ideas and around an hour. Not 3 or 7 or 14 or 22. TEN! (Hah.) Today's +1. Back to YOU. What limitations can you impose on yourself? How can you CONSTRAIN your options more so you can enjoy your life more? Remember the Paradox of Choice. And The Illusion of Choice. Simplify. Go all in. On being your best. TODAY.

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