You Are Heroic with Brian Johnson

Latest Episodes:

#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/

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+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.

PNTV: Food Fix by Mark Hyman, MD (#411) Sep 21, 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 Food Fix by Mark Hyman, MD. Hope you enjoy! Mark Hyman, MD, is head of strategy for the Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine and board president for the Institute for Functional Medicine. He is also the bestselling author of a number of books, including Eat Fat, Get Thin. This is a very important and equally sobering book. As Mark says: "If we were to identify one big lever to pull to improve global health, create economic abundance, reduce social injustice and mental illness, restore environmental health, and reverse climate change, it would be transforming our entire food system. That is the most important work of our time—work that must begin now." In the Note we take a quick look at the dysfunction of the food system and how to fix it while talking about the #1 thing YOU can do TODAY to address it. We also chat about the fact that your food label may be lying to you, the ENORMOUS amount of money the junk food industry spends on junk science (think: $12 BILLION) and the social justice issues of food. Get Food Fix on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Food-Fix-Economy-Communities-Planet-One/dp/031645317X Learn more about Mark Hyman, MD: https://www.optimize.me/authors/mark-hyman/ ► RELATED RESOURCES: Big Idea 1: THE BROKEN SYSTEM - Mark Hyman → https://www.optimize.me/authors/mark-hyman/ Big Idea 2: #1 FIX = RULE #1 - +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/ - +1: Cancer Candy (Aka Sugar) | And All It's Secret Identities (#1177) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/cancer-candy-aka-sugar/ +1: The Case Against Sugar | Is Very Strong (#685) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/the-case-against-sugar/ Big Idea 3: LYING LABELS - +1: Your Food Label | Is It Lying to You? (#1244) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/your-food-label/ Big Idea 4: JUNK SCIENCE - +1: Junk Food's Junk Science | Did You Know…? (#1245) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/junk-foods-junk-science/ - +1: Sugar Math | It Adds Up. Fast! (#1178) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/sugar-math/ - Optimal Weight 101 | How to Optimize our Metabolism to Easily Sculpt our Ideal Bodies while Energizing to Actualize → https://www.optimize.me/weight/ Big Idea 5: FOOD Rx - +1: Cancer's Roots & Leaves | Modern Medicine: Strengths + Weaknesses → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/cancers-roots-and-leaves/ - Tom Rath → https://www.optimize.me/authors/tom-rath/ ► FREE 14-DAY TRIAL: Get the PhilosophersNote on Food Fix 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: A Handbook for the Modern Hero + Surveillance Capitalism + Roman Masterpiece Days (#47) Sep 20, 2020

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Today we tap into some insights after a good night of sleep, chat briefly about Surveillance Capitalism (and Digital Minimalism) before I share the first steps in my new book: OPTIMIZE - A Handbook for the Modern Hero.

PNTV: Breath by James Nestor (#410) Sep 20, 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 Breath by James Nestor. Hope you enjoy! Breath. It's the missing pillar in health. We've been talking about this for years and we've included breathing among our fundamentals since I first read Patrick McKeown's The Oxygen Advantage. And, I just LOVE the way James captures the importance of breathing in this book. The first words on the inside flap of the book deliver the point with a sledgehammer: "No matter what you eat, how much you exercise, how skinny or young or strong you are, none of it matters if you're not breathing properly." Big Ideas we explore include how to breathe optimally and why it's so important, the #1 tip, oral posture (how's yours?) and the perfect breath (think 5.5 + 5.5 for 5.5!). Get Breath on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Breath-New-Science-Lost-Art/dp/0735213615 Learn more about James Nestor: https://www.optimize.me/authors/james-nestor/ ► RELATED RESOURCES: Big Idea 1: MOUTH vs. NOSE - Breathing 101 → https://www.optimize.me/breathing - PN: The Oxygen Advantage by Patrick McKeown → https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-oxygen-advantage-patrick-mckeown/ Big Idea 2: CO2 - +1: Breathe Less | To Breathe Right (#1231) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/breathe-less/ Big Idea 3: #1 TIP - +1: The Rules of Breathing | The Big 3: Nose + Belly + Exhale (#485) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/the-rules-of-breathing/ Big Idea 4: ORAL POSTURE - +1: Oral Posture ← How's Yours? | High Fiving the Magic Spot in Our Mouths (#1229) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/oral-posture-hows-yours/ - +1: The Thread Thru Your Head | Pull It Up for Poise and Relaxed Power (#462) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/the-thread-thru-your-head/ - +1: The Magic Spot in Our Mouths | High Five It and Shine! (#1230) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/the-magic-spot-in-our-mouths/ Big Idea 5: PERFECT BREATH - +1: The Perfect Breath | 5.5 + 5.5 + 5.5 (#1228) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/the-perfect-breath/ - +1: The Greatest Predictor of Longevity | Genetics? Diet? Exercise? Nope… Try: Lung Capacity! (#1227) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/the-greatest-predictor-of-longevity/ ► FREE 14-DAY TRIAL: Get the PhilosophersNote on Breath 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: Friends, meet Optimize Compass. Compass, Friends. (#46) Sep 19, 2020

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Today we have fun meeting the new Optimize (Hero) (Virtue) Compass and I share some interesting HRV and RHR data over last three days looking at effects of last meal, ice baths, etc.

PNTV: Life's Great Question by Tom Rath (#409) Sep 19, 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 Life's Great Question by Tom Rath. Hope you enjoy! I'm a big fan of Tom Rath and his work. And... I'm not alone. His 10 books have sold over 10 million copies. Dan Pink (author of Drive and When) calls him "One of the most successful nonfiction writers of his generation." We featured two of his earlier books: Eat Move Sleep and Are You Fully Charged? Plus: His children's book called The Rechargeables remains one of my all-time favorites. "Life's Great Question" that beckons all of us ("What can I contribute?") is beautifully framed by the Martin Luther King, Jr. quote that kicks off the book: "Life's most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for others?" This book is a field manual to help us go about answering that question so we can, as per the subtitle of the book: "Discover How You Contribute to the World." Big Ideas we explore include creating a sense of urgency in life, Purpose 2.0, connecting what we do to those we serve, undivided attention (our new secret weapon), and creating the energy to be our best. Get Life's Great Question on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Lifes-Great-Question-Discover-Contribute/dp/1939714176 Learn more about Tom Rath: https://www.optimize.me/authors/tom-rath/ ► RELATED RESOURCES: Big Idea 2: PURPOSE 2.0 - +1: Purpose 2.0 | Time for a Purpose Upgrade? (#1094) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/purpose-2-0/ - +1: Life's Great Question | Can You Guess What It Is? (#1093) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/lifes-great-question/ - PNTV: The Courage Quotient → https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-courage-quotient-robert-biswas-diener/ - +1: Love 2.0 (vs. Love 1.0) | Ready to Upgrade Today? (401) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/love-20-vs-love-10/ Big Idea 3: CONNECTING - +1: How to Meaningify Your Work | In One Simple Step… (#1095) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/how-to-meaningify-your-work/ Big Idea 4: UNDIVIDED - PN: Deep Work by Cal Newport → https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/deep-work-cal-newport/ - +1: Deep Work | How to Escape Shallowville and Go Deep (#36) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/deep-work/ - PNTV: Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport → https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/digital-minimalism-cal-newport/ Big Idea 5: ENERGY - PN: Are You Fully Charged? by Tom Rath → https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/are-you-fully-charged-tom-rath/ - PNTV: The Upward Spiral by Alex Korb, PhD → https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-upward-spiral-alex-korb/ - +1 Make the Connection | What's Working? What Needs Work? (#374) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/make-the-connection/ ► FREE 14-DAY TRIAL: Get the PhilosophersNote on Life's Great Question 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/

PNTV: The Practicing Stoic by Ward Farnsworth (#408) Sep 18, 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 Practicing Stoic by Ward Farnsworth. Hope you enjoy! Ward Farnsworth is the Dean of the University of Texas School of Law. As you can imagine, he brings a logical precision to his discussion of Stoicism that is distinct and powerful. (Seriously. It's actually ASTONISHINGLY powerful.) I really enjoyed the book and I highly recommend it for the aspiring Practicing Stoic. Big Ideas we explore include Principle #1 of practical Stoicism (Judgment!), the good life vs. the good mood (virtue for the win!), what others think (<- pro tip: ignore it), preferred indifference (committed but not attached), and using adversity as fuel for our Optimizing (use Hermes' magic wand!). Get The Practicing Stoic on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Practicing-Stoic-Philosophical-Users-Manual/dp/1567926118/ Learn more about Ward Farnsworth: https://www.optimize.me/authors/ward-farnsworth/ ► RELATED RESOURCES: Big Idea 1: PRINCIPLE #1 - Stoicism 101 → https://Optimize.me/stocisim - +1: The Space | Between Stimulus and Response (#452) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/the-space/ Big Idea 2: THE GOOD LIFE VS. THE GOOD MOOD - +1: The Good Life | vs. The Good Mood (#1126) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/the-good-life/ - +1: Don't Aim at Success | Dedicate Yourself to a Cause Bigger Than Yourself (#1040) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/dont-aim-at-success/ Big Idea 3: WHAT OTHERS THINK - +1: Euthymia | How to Live with Energized Tranquility (#100) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/euthymia/ - PN: Self Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson → https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/self-reliance-ralph-waldo-emerson/ - +1: Trust Thyself | Every Heart Vibrates to that Iron String (#614) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/trust-thyself/ Big Idea 4: PREF'D INDIFFERENCE - +1: Arrows and Our Friend Apollo | A Handy Tool for Rocking It (#199) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/arrows-and-our-friend-apollo/ - Donald Robertson → https://www.optimize.me/authors/donald-robertson/ - PN: How to Think Like a Roman Emperor by Donald Roberton → https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/how-to-think-like-a-roman-emperor-donald-robertson/ Big Idea 5: ADVERSITY = FUEL - +1: Your Secret Weapon | Thank You, Epictetus and Hermes (#1129) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/your-secret-weapon/ - Behind-the-Scenes at Optimize Coach Graduation Weekend: OMMS → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUw5E1gRf0U ► FREE 14-DAY TRIAL: Get the PhilosophersNote on The Practicing Stoic 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: "I'm back." (Missed you + The Social Dilemma + Wonderfully bad data +) (#45) Sep 18, 2020

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After a very brief retirement, I'm back. lol. Missed you. Let's goooo! As always: Get instant (free) access to all 600+ PhilosophersNotes AND all 50 Optimal Living 101

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