You Are Heroic with Brian Johnson

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+1: The 100,000 Game | Join Me? (#1250) Sep 06, 2020

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Not too long ago, I mentioned the virtual Optimize Local Zoom group I joined. It was such an epic hangout. I'm still beaming from the download of Love (and Wisdom + Self-Mastery + Courage + …). Seriously. It VERY MUCH reminded me of the graduation weekend where I got to hang out with 500+ of our inaugural Optimize Coaches—which will always be a highlight of my life. There's just something magical about getting together with people who share your values and are playing the same game with the same intense commitment to play it well. And, of course, as we've discussed many (!) times, the fastest way to Optimize your life ISN'T the Wisdom side of things per se. It's the COMMUNITY side of things. Join a Community with super-high standards and BOOM!—the best you is more likely to join the party. With COVID-19 taking over the world and creating the need for social distancing, we've pressed pause on our offline Optimize Local initiative. But… And I have goosebumps as I type this, we WILL be leaning back into that when the time is right. (I still can't believe we had Optimizers from over 75 countries and 750 cities around the world who raised their hands to get involved.) For now, you can join one of those virtual Optimize Zoom meetups by cruising over here. But… That's not quite the point of this +1. Today I want to chat about one of the little things that came up in our chat. One of our beloved Coaches shared how her fundamentals slipped a bit when COVID hit and she felt it. Then her Optimize Buddy challenged her to get her step count back up. So, she re-started her morning walk-hikes. And it changed her life. Then she wound up walking more and more and pretty soon she was, in her Optimize Buddy's words, kicking his butt—and he loved it! I can't remember the exact number of steps she said she was getting but I do remember the fact that she shared a WEEKLY stat. I was struck by the fact that you could have fun measuring your steps by both the DAY and the WEEK. Of course, it's obvious when I type that out but I always thought of my 10,000+ steps per day and never really thought about it on a weekly basis other than looking at the average daily count over the last week that my Suunto watch shares with me. So… 10,000 is our "go crush this!" target for our Coaches—which of course, is 70,000 steps/week. But, what's a target a little beyond that? I thought: 100,000 steps per week would be a pretty cool goal. Then I wondered: What's 100,000 divided by 7? Answer: 14,285.7 Suunto tells me that my current 7-day average number of steps is 18,794—which is a) pretty ridiculous (lol) and b) a reflection of just how much I love walking on our new Trail multiple times per day—it's the PERFECT oscillating reboot. So… 100,000. Isn't that a beautiful, round number? Wanna go to the next level with your step count and movement throughout the day and join me?! No pressure (seriously) as I know we all have different constraints in our realities and different things that fire us up. AND… Let's remember this wisdom from Kelly McGonigal's The Joy of Movement and make sure we're on the right side of these stats: "In the United States, daily physical activity—as captured by an accelerometer—is correlated with a sense of purpose in life. Real-time tracking also shows that people are happier during moments when they are physically active than when they are sedentary. And on days when people are more active than their usual, they report greater satisfaction with their lives. Other experiments in the U.S. and UK have forced moderately active adults to become sedentary for a period of time, only to watch their well-being wither. Regular exercisers who replace physical activity with a sedentary activity for two weeks become more anxious, tired, and hostile. When adults are randomly assigned to reduce their daily step count, 88 percent become more depressed. Within one week of becoming more sedentary, they report a 31 percent decline in life satisfaction. The average daily step count required to induce feelings of anxiety and depression and decrease satisfaction with life is 5,649. The typical American takes 4,774 steps per day. Across the globe, the average is 4,961." Here's to the Wisdom of knowing that movement matters and the Self-Mastery to go out and practice our philosophy when it matters most… TODAY.

#1: The ABC's of Intimacy (Alexandra's cameo + Date night + Weekly planning +) (#34) Sep 06, 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!)

PNTV: How to Think Like a Roman Emperor by Donald Robertson (#396) Sep 06, 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 How to Think Like a Roman Emperor by Donald Robertson. Hope you enjoy! Donald Robertson is one of the world's leading thinkers, writers AND practitioners of Stoic philosophy. He's also a therapist who integrates Stoicism into his work with individuals. This is our second Note on one of his great books. The first Note was on The Philosophy of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in which he connects the philosophical underpinnings of CBT (one of the most empirically-validated, effective modern therapies) to ancient Stoicism. This book is part biography and part philosophy. It's all awesome. If you want to know how to think like a Roman emperor, start here. I think you'll enjoy the book as much as I did. Get How to Think Like a Roman Emperor on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/How-Think-Like-Roman-Emperor/dp/1250196620 Learn more about Donald Robertson: https://www.optimize.me/authors/donald-robertson/ ► RELATED RESOURCES: Big Idea 1: GOAL OF LIFE - PN: The Philosophy of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy by Donald Robertson → https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-philosophy-of-cognitive-behavioural-therapy-donald-robertson/ - Stoicism 101 → https://www.optimize.me/stoicism/ - +1: Warriors vs. Librarians | Let's Not Just Catalogue these +1s, Let's LIVE Them (#66) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/warriors-vs-librarians/ - +1: The Cardinal Virtues | Of Stoicism + Science + Optimize (#1004) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/the-cardinal-virtues/ - +1: The Optimize Compass | And How to Make One (#1128) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/the-optimize-compass/ - +1: How to High Five Your Inner Daimon | My Philosophy in One Word (#3) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/how-to-high-five-your-inner-daimon/ Big Idea 2: IDEAL SAGE (+ YOU) - How to Journal Carpe Diem Style! → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFMOrHcrGWU&t -+1: What's Your 0? | Let's Turn It Into a φ (#1249) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/whats-your-0/ -+1: Pythagoras's PM Review | Via His Golden Verses (#1019) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/pythagorass-pm-review/ Big Idea 3: STOIC JOY - +1: The #1 Key to Happiness + Flourishing | Hint: Become BFFs with your Inner Soul (#2) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/the-1-key-to-happiness-flourishing/ - +1: The 5 (Greek) Keys to Optimizing | Areté + Eudaimonia + en*theos + Hērōs + Euthymia (#200) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/the-5-greek-keys-to-optimizing/ - +1: Aristotle's "Happiness" | Isn't Quite What You Think (#464) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/aristotles-happiness/ - +1: Scaffolding | Constructing Your Destiny (#174) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/scaffolding/ Big Idea 4: TIME PROJECTION - +1: Disaster = | Virtue's Opportunity (#1152) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/disaster/ Big Idea 5: CHOICE OF HERCULES - +1: The Choice of Hercules | Vice Dressed up as Virtue (#1036) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/the-choice-of-hercules/ - 500+ Optimize Coaches Conquer a Spartan Race → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrGspQzbzf0 - +1: +1 or -1 = Destiny Math | What Must YOU be? (#1) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/destiny-math/ ► FREE 14-DAY TRIAL: Get the PhilosophersNote on How to Think Like a Roman Emperor 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: Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport (#395) Sep 05, 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 Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport. Hope you enjoy! Cal Newport is one of my favorite thinkers. He got his Ph.D. in Computer Science from MIT and is now a Professor at Georgetown. He's also a bestselling author of a number of books. Given the fact that the fastest way to Optimize your life is to STOP doing things that are sub-optimal AND the fact that (for nearly all of us) our use of technology is the #1 thing that "Needs work!," it's SUPER important for us to figure out how to best use all the technology available to us WITHOUT becoming lost in a tsunami of inputs. Enter: Our new philosophy of technology use: Digital Minimalism. Enter: My SUPER strong recommendation of the book and my ALL IN commitment to helping create a movement around the ideas in the book. As you know, I rarely say a book is a must read but this book is as close as it gets. Big Ideas we explore include the fact that your soul is engaged in a lopsided arms race, a definition + overview of digital minimalism, the importance of spending time alone (and the consequences of *not* spending adequate time alone), reclaiming leisure (get active!) and joining the Attention Resistance. Here's to Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World! Get Digital Minimalism on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Minimalism-Choosing-Focused-Noisy/dp/0525536515 Learn more about Cal Newport: https://www.optimize.me/authors/cal-newport/ ► FREE 14-DAY TRIAL: Get the PhilosophersNote on Digital Minimalism 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: Soul Force equation + deep (RHR) data dive + best book on relationships EVER! (#33) Sep 05, 2020

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Get first week of Optimize Coach FREE here: https://www.optimize.me/coach-module-o/

Note: 10 more days to join us for Class III!

Want to Master Yourself and Serve Heroically? (Here's Mastery Series Module O from Optimize Coach!) Sep 04, 2020

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Optimize Coach: https://optimize.me/coach (Join 2,000+ Optimizers from 70+ Countries!) Imagine the absolute best wisdom from 600+ PhilosophersNotes, 1,000+ Optimize +1s, and 50 Optimal Living 101 classes distilled into ONE super-practical, 300-day program to help you fundamentally and permanently change your life. That's what we do in the Optimize Mastery Series + Optimize Coach program. And… September 1st was the first day of Optimize Coach - Class III. (YES!!!) We thought the best way to tell you about it and help you see if it might be a good fit for you was to share the first week's curriculum and invite you to join in. So… Here's Module O! Hope you enjoy!! (You can download the beautiful worksheets and watch the Practice video walking through them at https://www.optimize.me/coach-module-o/) Note: Our program is not just for people who want to become Coaches and/or take their Coaching practices to the next level. In fact, out of the 2,000+ people who have already gone through our program (from 70+ countries around the world!), HALF of them do it "just" to more and more consistently express the best version of themselves and give the world all they've got.

PNTV: It Takes What It Takes by Trevor Moawad (#394) Sep 04, 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 It Takes What It Takes by Trevor Moawad. Hope you enjoy! Trevor Moawad is a mental conditioning coach to elite performers. He is well known for being the mental coach to Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and has worked closely with prestigious NCAA football programs and coaches, the US Special Operations community, Major League Baseball, and the NBA. This book is, as per the sub-title, all about "How to Think Neutrally and Gain Control of Your Life." I loved it and, if you're also equally fired up by the mental toughness in sports and life genre, I think you'll enjoy it as much as I did. Big Ideas we explore include neutral thinking (much better than positive or negative), goats and G.O.A.T.s, the law of substitution (focus!), the illusion of choice (if you're REALLY ALL IN, there is no choice), and drawing a line in the dirt (and getting to it… again and again and again!). Get It Takes What It Takes on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Takes-What-Think-Neutrally-Control/dp/0062947125 Learn more about Trevor Moawad: https://www.optimize.me/authors/trevor-moawad/ ► RELATED RESOURCES: Big Idea 1: NEUTRAL THINKING - PN: Rethinking Positive Thinking by Gabriele Oettingen → https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/rethinking-positive-thinking-gabriele-oettingen/ - +1: Etiology vs. Teleology | Freud vs. Adler (and Campbell and Me and…) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/etiology-vs-teleology/ - +1: First Things First | Second Things? Not at All (#275) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/first-things-first/ - +1: What's Important Now? (Part 2) | How to Win 28 Olympic Medals (#276) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/whats-important-now-part-2/ - +1: WIN! WIN! WIN! | What's Your Next Most Important Thing? (<- Crush That. Repeat.) (#421) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/win-win-win/ Big Idea 2: GOATS + G.O.A.T.S. - +1: Goeswith | Our New Wisdom Word (Thanks, Alan Watts!) (#639) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/goeswith/ Big Idea 3: LAW OF SUBSTITUTION - +1: A Wandering Mind | Is an Unhappy Mind (#1234) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/a-wandering-mind/ Big Idea 4: ILLUSION OF CHOICE - +1: Commitments: 100% Is a Breeze | 99%? Not So Much. (#46) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/commitments-100-is-a-breeze/ - +1: Proving Yourself Right | vs. "I Hope This Works Out Alright" (#215) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/proving-yourself-right/ - +1: Sacrifices vs. Decisions | There's a Big Difference Between the Two (#65) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/sacrifices-vs-decisions/ - +1: Deciding vs. Wishing | 3 Steps on How to Get What You Want (#101) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/deciding-vs-wishing/ Big Idea 5: DRAWING YOUR LINE - Joe De Sena → https://www.optimize.me/authors/joe-de-sena/ - +1: The Paradox of Choice | Maximizer vs. Satisficer <- Which Are You? (#416) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/the-paradox-of-choice/ - PN: The Paradox of Choice by Barry Schwartz → https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-paradox-of-choice-why-more-is-less-barry-schwartz/ ► FREE 14-DAY TRIAL: Get the PhilosophersNote on It Takes What It Takes 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: God, please grant me the virtues to make Today a masterpiece! (#32) Sep 04, 2020

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PNTV: Tiny Habits by BJ Fogg (#393) Sep 03, 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 Tiny Habits by BJ Fogg. Hope you enjoy! BJ Fogg founded the Behavior Design Lab at Stanford University. He is one of the world's leading authorities on the science of behavior change. In this book, he introduces us to the core elements of his Fogg Behavior Model as we learn that habit change doesn't need to be as hard as we make it. As BJ tells us: "We are not the problem. Our approach to change is. It's a design flaw—not a personal flaw." Big Ideas we explore include the three elements that drive behavior (B = MAP!), the ABCs of Tiny Habits (Anchor + (Tiny) Behavior + Celebration!), the power of anchor prompts (After I (ANCHOR), I will (NEW HABIT), and the power of celebration (get your Shine on!). Get Tiny Habits on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Tiny-Habits-Changes-Change-Everything/dp/0358003326/ Learn more about BJ Fogg: https://www.optimize.me/authors/b-j-fogg/ ► RELATED RESOURCES: Big Idea 1: B = MAP - Optimal Living 101 classes → https://www.optimize.me/master-classes/ - +1: B = MAP | The Behavior Design Equation (#1198) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/b-map/ - +1: How to Delete a Behavior | Remove the Prompt and Make It Hard! (#1199) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/how-to-delete-a-behavior/ - +1: How to Delete a Bad Habit (Again!) | One Way: Make It Harder (#1233) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/how-to-delete-a-bad-habit-again/ - PN: Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport → https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/digital-minimalism-cal-newport/ - +1: Character Flaws vs. Design Flaws | Note: There's a BIG Difference (#1214) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/character-flaws-vs-design-flaws/ Big Idea 2: ABCs - +1: The ABCs of Tiny Habits | Anchor + Behavior + Celebration (#1205) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/the-abcs-of-tiny-habits/ - Celebration | As Powerful as Mindfulness and Gratitude? (#1206) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/celebration/ Big Idea 3: SHINE! - +1: Shine | The Result of Skillfully Celebrating our Successes (#1209) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/shine/ - +1: The Neuroscience of Seneca | Pleasant + Honorable = The Same (#1208) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/the-neuroscience-of-seneca/ Big Idea 4: INSTALL - +1: How to Celebrate | Hint: IMMEDIATELY + INTENSELY (#1207) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/how-to-celebrate/ - PN: Mini Habits by Stephen Guise → https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/mini-habits-stephen-guise/ - +1: The Weed | A Case Study in Habit Creation (#1213) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/the-weed/ - +1: How to Build a Good Habit | Easy as 1, 2, 3 (#657) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/how-to-build-a-good-habit/ Big Idea 5: DELETE - +1: How to Delete a Behavior | Remove the Prompt and Make It Hard! (#1199) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/how-to-delete-a-behavior/ - The Fastest Way to Delete a Bad Habit | Hint: Remove the Prompt (#1211) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/the-fastest-way-to-delete-a-bad-habit/ - Prompt Begone! | No Behavior Happens Without a Prompt (#1212) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/prompt-begone/ - +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/ - +1: How to +3 It | When -1 → +1 = +3 (#1232) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/how-to-3-it/ -#1: Let's take a walk! (Visit the Johnson Trail. lol) (#15) → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sg9SlllpG6c - +1: Energizers vs. Enervators | The Art & Science of How to Take a Good Break (#181) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/energizers-vs-enervators/ ► FREE 14-DAY TRIAL: Get the PhilosophersNote on Tiny Habits 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: How to Optimize your behavior design (B = MAP!!) (Note: Start with Trigger-Prompts!) (#31) Sep 03, 2020

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