You Are Heroic with Brian Johnson

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Optimize Interview: The Power of Agency with Paul Napper & Anthony Rao Oct 31, 2019

Show notes

Agency. It's one of my favorite words and psychological concepts (and a cornerstone of our Optimize Coach program). So, when I saw this book I immediately got it and read it and here we are. Paul Napper and Anthony Rao are leading consultants and clinicians (who have both held academic positions at Harvard Medical School). In their great book, they define agency as "the ability to act as an effective agent for yourself—reflecting, making creative choices, and constructing a meaningful life." Then they provide practical, scientifically-grounded wisdom on, as per the sub-title of the book: "The 7 Principles to Conquer Obstacles, Make Effective Decisions, and Create a Life on Your Own Terms." In this Note, we take a quick look at the 7 principles and shine a spotlight on the first 3 with a focus on how we can Optimize our agency TODAY!!

+1: #935 The Eternal Feast Oct 27, 2019

Show notes

In our last +1, we talked about A World Without 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's wonderful storytelling mind. Quick context: In Beyonders, our main characters gets transported to another world. In that world, an evil Emperor reigns. Few people have chosen to stand up to the Emperor. Those who look like they might be significant threats are harassed and, if they're lucky, get invited to a place called Harthenham to enjoy the "Eternal Feast." Basically, this is a place where you have ZERO issues. A place where you can enjoy all the most indulgent foods and pleasures you can imagine—where you have no worries at all and can literally live better than a king who has to worry about his kingdom. When presented with an invitation to Harthenham, many heroes give up their quest and cash in their ticket to the Eternal Feast—where they proceed to waste away the rest of their lives. I'll save the spoiler alert about what happens with our young hero. Today we'll focus on the brilliant metaphorical representation of OUR desires to get to a place where WE have no further toil or challenges. The Eternal Feast. (Doesn't that sound scrumptiously inviting?!) We have a word for that. Exoneration. (Thanks, Phil + Barry!) Wouldn't it be so amazing to no longer have to work so.darn.hard? No more bills to pay. Kids to feed. Laundry to fold. No more (often) overwhelming creative challenges. Or health issues. Or, well, ANY problems at all? Ahhh… Wouldn't that be SO NICE?! Insert: Laughter. Plus: More laughter. Hah. Reminder: We will NEVER (!) be exonerated from challenges. And, the sooner we get that fact (and remember it when we forget it) the faster we'll reduce the "Resistance" part of the "Suffering = Pain x Resistance" equation as we get back to practicing the ancient art of acquiescence and the modern art of loving what is. That's Today's +1. Let's reject our invitation to the Eternal Feast. And get back to serving the greater good. Heroically. Today. (And tomorrow. And…)

Optimize Interview: Stillness is the Key with Ryan Holiday Oct 25, 2019

Show notes

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 a book, I read it as soon as I can get my hands on it."

+1: #930 Micro Prospectus Oct 22, 2019

Show notes

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 our Coaches on a daily, micro-prospectus level via something we're calling "Carpe Diem" journaling. Carpe Diem. Seize the day!! How? Create a micro-prospectus. How? Well, one way is via The Big 3 (x 2): Energy + Work + Love (x Identity + Virtues + Behaviors). In (very) short: Identity: Who are you at your Optimus best Energy + Work + Love-wise? Virtues: What virtues do you embody as you express your best in each of those Identities? Behaviors: What's ONE thing that best version of you would do TODAY Energy + Work + Love-wise? That's it. #carpediem You can do the whole thing in a minute by writing 9 words. Or, you can spend a few more minutes if you feel so inspired. Super simple micro-prospectus. When? Today. Tomorrow. The day after that. Stoke the fire of hope. And… Prosper! (btw: We'll be unpacking this whole process a LOT more in our upcoming Mastery Series. For now, here's a little one-page journal sheet you can play with. And, here's Michael showing you how to rock it.)

Optimize Interview: Everything is Figureoutable with Marie Forleo Oct 18, 2019

Show notes

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 my chat with Marie about a few of her favorites.

+1: #925 C.A.N.O.E-ing Oct 17, 2019

Show notes

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 bunch of things. In a business environment, the whole idea of kaizen is super popular. (Kaizen is Japanese for "improvement." … Synonymous with "Optimize"?) While Tony Robbins calls it "CANI!" (As in "Constant And Never-ending Improvement.") So… I'm riffing on that basic theme during our fundies session on Sleep—reminding us all of the power of chipping away and looking for marginal gains as we have fun with the whole CANI thing. Only, I suggested we swap out the "I" for "E" and make it "Constant And Never-ending EXPERIMENTING" (rather than "Improving"). I then made the (weak) suggestion that perhaps we could pronounce it: CAN-EE! To which Michael Balchan (my right-hand guy with our Coach program) playfully suggested we call it "CANOE!" (short for "Constant And Never-ending Optimizing Experimentation") as he made some side-to-side canoeing motions. To which I said, "PERFECT!" C.A.N.O.E-ing!! Constant And Never-ending Optimizing Experimentation. That's Today's +1. What's one little experiment YOU can run Today? Let's grab our CANOEs and hop in the Optimizing River of Flexibility.

+1: #920 Borrowed Energy Oct 12, 2019

Show notes

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 and the formulator (and cofounder) of the Vega nutrition brand. Today we're going to chat about one of my favorite Ideas from his book. It popped into my head during the Q&A with our Coaches after our session on Sleep as we discussed having curfews on our caffeine while remembering the fact that when we routinely get less than 6 or 7 hours of sleep we DOUBLE (!) our risk for cancer. First, here's the wisdom from Brendan: "I consider coffee drinking an uncomplementary stress. I view it as a form of credit, similar to shopping with a credit card. You get energy now that you don't actually have, but you pay for it later—when the 'bill,' or fatigue, hits. (Simply drinking more coffee to put off the inevitable is like paying off one credit card with another: It will catch up with you sooner or later.) You'll most likely pay a high interest rate as well, needing more time to recover than if that energy had not been borrowed in the first place. This is the beginning of a vicious cycle." Let's call that "Borrowed Energy." Now, let's connect that to the Matthew Walker gem we keep on talking about: "Two thirds of adults throughout all developed nations fail to obtain the recommended eight hours of nightly sleep. I doubt you're surprised by this fact, but you may be surprised by the consequences. Routinely sleeping less than six or seven hours a night demolishes your immune system, more than doubling your risk of cancer." So… You know what MOST of those two-thirds of adults who aren't getting enough sleep do to make up for the fatigue they almost certainly feel most days? They (of course) BORROW ENERGY. In the form of caffeine via coffee, sodas, tea, etc. And/or sugar, etc. Now… It would be GREAT if we actually had a running tab on all the energy we've borrowed. Some super simple energy budgeting App like Mint for Energy. One glance and we can see how much more energy we borrowed Today and how high our interest rates are, etc. Unfortunately (and this is TRULY unfortunate), we don't. Instead, we go on borrowing more and more and more energy. Day in and day out. Week in and week out. Month in and month out. Year in and year out. Decade in and decade out. And then… We don't just continue to feel fatigue… Instead… We double our risk of getting cancer and make ourselves unnecessarily vulnerable to all the other chronic illnesses we don't want. And… WHAM! Our debt is due. And we run a vey high risk of paying a VERY steep price in the form of one of those dreaded chronic diseases that are currently plaguing our modern society. Let's remember that the vast majority of chronic diseases could be prevented with a few simple (fundamental!) lifestyle changes. I repeat myself (yet again): One of the biggest levers we can pull? Get a good night of sleep. Stop borrowing so much Energy. Pay down your Energy debt. Start building your Energy wealth portfolio. Today. (How will you +1 it, my Energized friend?!)

+1: #910 Sweeping Our Own Porches Oct 02, 2019

Show notes

Today is, of course, October 2nd, 2019. Let's hop in a time machine. Destination: 150 years ago: 1869. Cars don't exist yet. Neither do phones. (Let alone a smartphone.) So… Imagine me sending this to you via telegram as we appreciate all the marvels of modern life. 150 years ago Today a great soul was born: Mohandas Gandhi. Let's celebrate by taking a moment to reflect on his iconic "Be the change you want to see" wisdom. We'll let another great soul who spent her life in India lead our reflection today. As you may know, Mother Teresa once said: "If each of us would only sweep our own doorstep, the whole world would be clean." Yep. That's about right, eh? What change do YOU want to see in the world? Are you BEING it? Awesome. Here's to sweeping our front porches as we do our little part in making the whole world clean.

+1: #905 The Origin of Disease Sep 27, 2019

Show notes

In our last couple +1s, we've been hanging out in our guts. (Good times!) Surprisingly, that's where we discovered 90% (!) of our serotonin and 70-80% (!!) of our immune systems. Crazy, eh? Today we're going to spend another moment on the subject. Get this: Although modern medicine pretty much ignores the gut as its standard of care focuses on alleviating symptoms rather than Optimizing systems, the idea that our guts play a central role in our well-being isn't a new idea. Let's jump into a time machine and rewind the clock about 2,400 years. Destination: Ancient Greece. It's time to meet the father of medicine: Hippocrates. You know what he said? "All disease begins in the gut." Dr. Gundry echoes that wisdom and adds a little bonus gem (via The Longevity Paradox) where he tells us: "As Hippocrates famously and wisely said, 'All disease begins in the gut.' The good news is that all disease can be stopped there as well." That's Today's +1. What's ONE thing you KNOW you could be doing to Optimize your nutrition? Is TODAY a good day to make that happen? Fantastic. High fives. Low fives. Mid fives. (Right around the gut!) Etc. Let's do this!!!

+1: #895 Got Glymph? Sep 17, 2019

Show notes

Dr. Steven Gundry is Tony Robbins' doctor. He's a former world-class heart surgeon. These days he focuses on longevity. His new book is called The Longevity Paradox. Sub-title: "How to Die Young at a Ripe Old Age." It's fantastic. I highly recommend it. The main theme of the book is that our longevity, paradoxically, is driven by the most ancient parts of us—the bacteria and other "foreign" stuff living in our guts (and on our bodies). Today, I want to focus on one of the practical ideas from that book that might wind up being one of the most significant Optimizing levers I've pulled. (Ever.) (Seriously.) It's called "Brain Washing." Short story. I've known for awhile that I should have my last meal earlier than I've been having it. Dr. Gundry finally sold me on why I should at least test what would happen if I ate my last meal FOUR hours before going to bed. Yes, four (!) hours before I go to bed. Now, I go to bed as early as 7:30 PM so that means I'm eating my last meal around 3:00 or so. It sounded absurd to me as well when I first contemplated it. But… The data coming in so far is almost even more absurd. We'll talk about that more in our next +1. For now, let's talk about glymph. Glymph? Yep. GLYMPH. Ever heard of it? Here's how Dr. G puts it: "A few years ago, researchers discovered a system that allows cerebrospinal fluid (that clear fluid we tap when we stick a needle into your spine) to flow through the brain, cleaning out the spaces in between cells, just as lymphatic fluid does in the rest of your body. This is called the glymphatic system. To make room for the fluid to wash out your brain, your cells actually shrink in size when you are in deep sleep. This allows the full 'brain wash' process to go twenty times as fast when you are in deep sleep as when you are awake and helps explain why a good night's sleep is so restorative. When you get an adequate amount of deep sleep, you literally wake up with a refreshed and rejuvenated mind that has been swept clean of junk and debris." So… We've all heard of our lymphatic system. It's an essential part of our immune system featuring a clear fluid called "lymph" that helps rid our bodies of toxins, waste and other unwanted materials. But... What about our glymphatic system? I never really paid attention to it until I read this book. It's a BIG deal. Want to keep your brain all squeaky clean? Well... It's the glymph in our GLYMPHATIC system that's responsible for getting rid of all the toxins, waste and other unwanted materials from our BRAINS. Which kinda begs the question: How do we Optimize THAT process? Back to Dr. G. He tells us: "The glymphatic system is most active during the specific stage of deep sleep that happens very early in the sleep cycle. And the glymphatic system, just like your digestive system, requires a great deal of blood flow. This means that if you eat too soon before going to bed, your blood will all flow to your gut to aid in digestion and will not be able to reach your brain to complete the all-important brain wash." He tells us that this "brain wash cycle" is probably the "single most overlooked and misunderstood aspect of neurodegenerative diseases." He also tells us that, luckily, there's a simple solution: "Leaving as big a gap as possible between your last meal of the day and your bedtime." His specific recommendation? Again: Eat your last meal at least FOUR hours before you go to bed. That's Today's +1. Got glymph? What time was YOUR last meal last night? How can you Optimize that a little more Today? -1. -1. -1. -1. Glymph for the win!

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