You Are Heroic with Brian Johnson

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PNTV: Wired to Create by Carolyn Gregoire and Scott Barry Kaufman Feb 02, 2018

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This book started out as a blog post by Carolyn Gregoire based on Scott Barry Kaufman's work that went viral: 18 Things Highly Creative People Do Differently. Scott is one of the world's leading creativity researchers. Carolyn is a senior writer at the Huffington Post. Together, they wrote a great little book on the mysteries of the creative mind. Big Ideas we explore include: the fact that creativity is a messy business (embrace complexity!), the power of walking for daydreaming (all the cool philosophers do it!), creating a nice home for your genius to visit (she's got the magic!), creating again and again (and again), unitask rather than multitask (unless you want to atrophy the best part of your brain), and STAMP your life with your own personality (but only if you want to be great … and happy!).

PNTV: The Happiness Track by Emma Seppälä (#369) Jan 31, 2018

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Here are 5 of my favorite Big Ideas from "The Happiness Track" by Emma Seppälä. Hope you enjoy!

Emma Seppälä is the science director of Stanford's Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education. She also has a popular blog called Fulfillment Daily. In this great little book, she walks us through the latest scientific research on everything from resilience, willpower and compassion to positive stress, creativity, and mindfulness. Big Ideas we explore include how to find fulfillment (hint: it's in this moment—right now!), how to skillfully surf stress waves, the most powerful lever to optimize your mind (hint: your breath), how to succeed in failure Jack Ma style, and the science of compassion.

Get book here: https://www.amazon.com/Happiness-Trac... Connect: https://emmaseppala.com/

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+1: #300 Play Well the Given Part Jan 31, 2018

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Epictetus told us that we don't always get to pick the position we have in life. Our job is to make sure we play that role well. Specifically, he said: "Remember that thou art an actor in a play of such a kind as the teacher (author) may choose; if short, of a short one; if long, of a long one: if he wishes you to act the part of a poor man, see that you act the part naturally; if the part of a lame man, of a magistrate, of a private person, (do the same). For this is your duty, to act well the part that is given to you; but to select the part, belongs to another." James Stockdale personified this wisdom when he found himself in a prisoner of war camp as the clandestine, commanding officer of what became hundreds of soldiers. He didn't choose that role. But he did choose to play that given part as well as he possibly could. Viktor Frankl echoed this wisdom. In the midst of his own experience in the horrors of a concentration camp, he chose to play his role well and told us: "The meaning of our existence is not invented by ourselves, but rather detected." Thankfully, most of us will never experience those types of extremes. Yet, we may perceive ourselves to be "stuck" in a life that's not entirely our choosing or with responsibilities we may sometimes wish we didn't have. That's a very good time to bring this wisdom to mind. And choose to act well the given part. So… Today's +1. What part have you been asked to play by the ultimate director of life? Are you playing it well? What's one little way you can boost your performance today? P.S. Martin Luther King, Jr. has some wisdom on the subject as well. He says: "Be an artist at whatever you do. Even if you are a street sweeper, be the Picasso of street sweepers!"

Abundance 101 (Intro) Jan 28, 2018

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I created 25 classes before we got to money/wealth/etc. That was deliberate. (Virtue for the win!) And… It was fun to create this class and share my thoughts on how to create true wealth. First idea? We've gotta remember that the Ultimate Currency/the reason we do *anything* is to be Happy. Therefore, we want to run our pursuit of material abundance through that lens. Then we talk about how to become psychologically wealthy (billionaires, baby!) (and look at how to Optimize your balance sheet), redefine economics from a spiritual plane and then… We talk about how to make and enjoy some more money. The theme? Wealth thru Profound Service. We talk about investing in the best stock on the market: You, Inc. And, we integrate Cal Newport's Passion + Craftsman mindsets with what I call a "Servant" mindset for a new hedgehog-like concept plus we look at Ray Dalio's 5 Steps to Getting What You Want in Life model—which is super powerful, kinda like WOOP by an uber-practical genius. Plus some other goodness I hope you enjoy!

PNTV: Head Strong by Dave Asprey Jan 26, 2018

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Dave Asprey is a fascinating guy. He's a professional bio-hacking machine whose publicly-stated goal is to live to 180. We covered his last book called The Bulletproof Diet and our kitchen's pantry is filled with a bunch of his Bulletproof products. In this book, he unveils his best bio-hacks for, as the sub-title suggests, "activating untapped brain energy to work smarter and think faster." Big Ideas we explore: Your brain on energy, kryptonite dust (what're yours?), mitochondria (one QUADRILLION!), EZ water (how to drop into that spot between a gas and a liquid), and junk light.

+ 1: #295 Newton's First Law: Fine Print Jan 26, 2018

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In our last +1 we talked about Isaac Newton and his First Law of Motion. Recall the basics: An object at rest will stay at rest. An object in motion will stay in motion. Today I'd like to look at the fine print of that Law. Let's dust it off and read the whole thing again. *unfurls parchment* "An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by some outside force." Oh! We missed the last part in our last +1. "… an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by some outside force." So, for example, if I start doing some Deep Living (whether that's Working or Connecting), I'll keep on doing some Deep Living UNLESS I'm "acted upon by some outside force." What outside force could possibly act upon me? Hmmm… Maybe a push notification? Or an email alert? Or simply having your smartphone in sight? (Hah.) This is why, if we really want to take advantage of the power of Newton's First Law, we need to put ourselves in a Deep Living bubble, remove all the potential "outside forces" that'll kill our momentum, and go Deep! Today's +1. Make Newton proud. Let's create some distraction-free momentum.

PNTV: The As If Principle by Richard Wiseman (#367) Jan 24, 2018

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Here are 5 of my favorite Big Ideas from "The As If Principle" by Richard Wiseman. Hope you enjoy!

William James once said: "If you want a quality, act as if you already have it." In this book, Richard Wiseman, Britain's official professor in "the Public Understanding of Psychology" walks us through the astonishing array of research that proves what he calls the "As If Principle." Big Ideas we explore include an exploration of the fact that feelings follow behavior, how to make yourself happy, the paradox of rewards, and how to create a new you.

Get book here: https://www.amazon.com/As-If-Principl... Connect: https://richardwiseman.wordpress.com/

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PNTV: Trying Not to Try by Edward Slingerland Jan 18, 2018

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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 "Trying Not to Try" by Edward Slingerland. Hope you enjoy!

Edward Slingerland is one of the world's leading experts on both ancient Chinese thought AND modern cognitive science. This book is a melding of those two realms. It's a truly fascinating read. I read it in a day and felt like I was spending the day hanging out with a brilliant thinker—getting privileged access to twenty years of deep thinking. If you're into ancient wisdom and modern science I think you'll love the book as much as I did. Big Ideas we explore include defining wu-wei + de (one of the coolest words/concepts ever), what Confucius + Lao Tzu + Mencius + Chuang Tzu have to say about wu-wei, and the spontaneity of mirrors.

Get book here: https://www.amazon.com/Trying-Not-Try...

Connect: https://eslingerland.arts.ubc.ca/

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+1: #285 How Are You Intelligent? Jan 15, 2018

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In our last +1, we had fun hanging out with your Genius. Recall: EVERYONE in ancient Roman times was said to have their own guiding spirit, or "genius" that helped them rock it. That reminds me of Sir Ken Robinson. In The Element, he tells us that our whole concept of "intelligence" is backward. Rather than ask, "How intelligent are you?" we SHOULD be asking "HOW are you intelligent?" We all have our own Geniuses. And… We all have our own different kinds of Intelligence. So… How are you intelligent? As we get clarity on that, Sir Ken tells us that we all have the potential to connect to what he calls "the Element." It's that force within us that allows us to live with deeper meaning and mojo and joy. The Element has two parts: Passion + Aptitude. Two questions will help us +1 our clarity:

What do you LOVE to do? As in, you'd do this in your free time or even pay to do it? This is your passion.

What are you naturally good at? What can you do relatively easily that most people can't do at all? This is your aptitude.

Passion + Aptitude = The Element. Sir Ken tells us the world NEEDS us to discover our Element. I agree. Now more than ever. Let's do the work to discover our Element and then, of course, have the courage to live it!

PNTV: Breathe by Dr. Belisa Vranich (#364) Jan 12, 2018

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Here are 5 of my favorite Big Ideas from "Breathe" by Dr. Belisa Vranich. Hope you enjoy!

Breathing. It's obviously important. And... I'm beginning to realize *just* how important it is. In fact, breathing properly is quickly becoming my #1 fundamental. Belisa Vranich is a clinical psychologist and one of the world's leading experts on how to breathe right. In this Note, we take a quick peek at why breathing is so important, learn how to measure your Vital Lung Capacity, observe the difference between Clark Kent and Superman and get to work on training the most important and underappreciated muscle in your body (hint: your diaphragm).

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