You Are Heroic with Brian Johnson

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PNTV: Smarter Faster Better by Charles Duhigg (#365) Jan 11, 2018

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Charles Duhigg is a Pulitzer Prize-winning NY Times journalist (and Harvard MBA) who wrote the best-selling book The Power of Habit in which he walked us through the science of building better habits. In this book, he walks us through the science of being productive so we can be smarter, faster and better at everything we do. It's a great book packed with fascinating stories and practical applications. Big Ideas we explore include the 2 keys to motivation, how to build your focus, the best way to set goals (think: Stretch + SMART), why disfluency helps learning and how productivity is all about choices.

+1: #280 How to Flourish Jan 10, 2018

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Martin Seligman is basically the Godfather of the Positive Psychology movement. He's written a number of seminal books on the science of well-being. When Seligman first kicked off the Positive Psychology party, he wrote a book called Authentic Happiness. A decade later, he updated his thinking with a book called Flourish. Short story: A good life isn't just about maintaining a positive emotional state represented by that big yellow smiley face. A good life is about moving toward your highest potential — flourishing — and that DOESN'T always feel like sunshine and rainbows. (Of course, the ancient Greeks made a similar distinction with their two different types of "happiness": hedonia and eudaimonia. We'll save that for another discussion.) So, Seligman tells us there are five key facets to the science of flourishing. He captures them in a handy-dandy acronym: PERMA. Here's a quick look: P is for Positive Emotion. Although experiencing a permanent, never-ending positive state isn't necessary (or possible), having a consistent level of positive emotional affect is a key aspect of well-being. So, smile! Enjoy your life. E is for Engagement. Want to feel great as you flourish? ENGAGE with your life. Create more and more moments of flow as you stretch toward goals that matter and give your best self to the moment. (Note: Want to feel really good? Engage in your core VIRTUES. The whole science of well-being is grounded on the universal virtues of all major religious and philosophical traditions.) R is for Relationships. Science is unequivocal: Healthy relationships are a core component to a healthy, flourishing life. Invest your time here. Give someone a hug today and tell them how much they mean to you. M is for Meaning. We need to have a connection to a deep sense of purpose in our lives. What deeply inspires you? Bring that to mind each day and make your life an expression of those values. A is for Achievement. Want to flourish? Then we've gotta stretch ourselves with goals that challenge us and experience the joy of achievement. What's firing you up these days? Are you creating micro wins and celebrating the process? PERMA. Positive Emotion. Engagement. Relationships. Meaning. Achievement. Where are you strong? Celebrate! And what can use a little work? +1! Here's to flourishing!

PNTV: The Ultra Mindset by Travis Macy with John Hanc (#362) Jan 08, 2018

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Here are 5 of my favorite Big Ideas from "The Ultra Mindset" by Travis Macy with John Hanc. Hope you enjoy!

Travis Macy is best known as the record-setting champion of Leadman—"a sort of six-week Grand Prix of Ultra Endurance" that consists of a jaw-dropping number of challenges. This book is a fun look at the eight principles that make up the Ultra Mindset Travis uses to do extraordinary things. Big Ideas we explore include: Your new mantra, what to do when you don't feel like it, thinking about thinking, making the choice to give up choice, and never quitting… except when you should quit (w/a great litmus test for when you should/shouldn't quit).

Get book here: https://www.amazon.com/Ultra-Mindset-... Connect: http://www.travismacy.com/ + http://johnhanc.com/

PhilosophersNotes: https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-... More goodness like this: https://www.optimize.me/membership/?r...

+1: #275 First Things First Jan 05, 2018

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One of Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is "First Things First." He also wrote a whole book by the same name. But you know where he got that phrase? Peter Drucker. It was Drucker who said "Put first things first." And you know what he said we should do with "second things." He said we should ignore them. Specifically, he said, "First things first — and second things not at all." (He also said, "If there is one 'secret' of effectiveness, it is concentration. Effective executives do first things first and they do one thing at a time.") Fact is, in any given moment there is only ONE most important thing to do. And, that's what the best among us do. Over and over and over and over and over again. Of course, this doesn't just apply to executives. How about one of the greatest athletes of all time, Michael Phelps. Phelps is the most decorated Olympian in history. Over the span of five Olympics (which, in itself, is an epic achievement), he won 28 medals — 23 of them gold. (Wow.) In his great book No Limits, he tells us about one of the secrets to his success he learned from his coach Bob Bowman. It's a very simple question that happens to form a powerful word: What's important now? W.I.N. What's important now? Micro WIN. How about now? Micro WIN. And now? Micro WIN. Over and over and over and over again. He created little micro wins all day every day during his training and before his races. And, well, those micro wins added up to a TON of Big Wins. So… How about that as a guiding question for you today? What's important now? To be clear: This doesn't mean working all the time or obsessively grinding in any aspect of our lives. It means seeing the big picture and knowing when the most important thing is NOT working but, rather, turning off your technology so you can connect with your family or your higher self. That's TRUE Winning. Remember: First things first. Second things? Not at all.

PNTV: Barking Up the Wrong Tree by Eric Barker (#363) Jan 03, 2018

Show notes

Eric Barker is the creator of the blog Barking Up the Wrong Tree, which "presents science-based answers and expert insight on how to be awesome at life." This is a REALLY engaging, well-written, compelling book. Eric takes us on a fun adventure through the science of what *really* works. And, as the sub-title suggests: How most of what you *think* works, is either a LOT more nuanced than you may have been led to believe or is just plain wrong. Big Ideas we explore include why valedictorians don't typically top the success charts, how to get more willpower, why managing your energy is so key, the power of mentors (and how to get one), and the #1 thing to remember for success.

+1: #250 Incremental to Bam! Jan 01, 2018

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As all parents know, one of the most amazing things about having kids is watching them hit new milestones—when, one day, they can do what was impossible just the day before. This recently happened in the Johnson house. Our little baby Eleanor went from not being able to crawl to being able to cruise all over the place in what appeared to be the span of 24 hours. Of course, that's life changing not just for her but for mom and dad as well. (Hah!) As a father who happens to be a lover of wisdom, I couldn't help but notice that this huge shift in ability that seemed to be so sudden was arrived at in an incredibly incremental way. Of course, Eleanor has been slowly developing all the requisite strength and skills to be able to crawl and then… BAM! It's on. But, it's fascinating to reflect on the fact that each of the preceding micro-gains didn't make it obvious that something so big was in the works. And, of course, it's the same thing with us. We may not see any "big" results in our lives as we work hard to implement these little +1s. But guess what? One day a switch will flip and you'll be able to easily do what was, up until that point, impossible. So, here's to the +1s that lead to the +10,000s. And, here's to making sure the house is officially child-proof. We've got a baby on the loose!

+1: #245 On a Bad Team? Jan 01, 2018

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In our last +1, Navy SEALs Jocko Willink and Leif Babin told us that leadership is all about EXTREME Ownership. No excuses. No blaming. Ever. They tell us that, ultimately, there are no bad teams per se, only bad leaders. To bring the point home, they tell us a story about guys in boats. Imagine Navy SEAL training. You're already exhausted from weeks of basic training. Now it's time for Hell Week. One of the most brutal aspects of the training is when the aspiring SEALs are split into "boat crews"—each with seven guys. Each team gets an old-school World War II-era inflatable boat that weighs 200 pounds. They need to carry this boat up and over 20-foot-high sand berms and run with it for miles. Then they get to paddle it out to the ocean, dump it over so everyone's out and freezing wet and then paddle it back in. And... They're always competing with everyone else. If you lose, you have to go through extra, bonus brutal stuff while the winners get to take the next race off. (The instructors constantly remind everyone: "It pays to be a winner!") So, with that in mind, imagine Boat Crew II. These guys win every single race. They're simply crushing it. And, although they're physically hammered, they're actually smiling throughout the process. Then we have Boat Crew VI. These guys are LOSING every single race. To put it mildly, they are simply NOT crushing it. And, as you can imagine, they're not too happy about it—cursing and blaming one another for all their problems. So… Each crew has a leader. Boat Crew VI's leader is convinced that they're losing because his team sucks. He's certain that Boat Crew II is simply made up of the best guys and his team isn't. Now, our wise instructor knows that there's no such thing as a bad team, just a bad leader. So, he devises a little experiment. He commands the leaders to swap teams. The leader from the always-winning Boat Crew II would now switch places with the leader from the always-losing Boat Crew VI. What happens? Well, the worst boat crew suddenly became the best. They went from losing nearly every race to winning nearly every race. As Jocko and Leif remind us: There are NO bad teams. Only bad leaders. Today's +1. Let's shine the spotlight on you. Whether it's at home or at work, do you ever think you're on a "bad" team? Guess what… You're the problem. (Hah. Seriously.) Quit blaming and criticizing and start taking EXTREME OWNERSHIP for the situation. Find solutions. Make it better. Lead. Win.

+1: #240 Our Minds Must Relax Jan 01, 2018

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In our last +1, we talked about the Cal Newport-inspired "Shut-down complete!" First, quick check in: You win that game? Get this: Seneca was talking about the same thing 2,000 years ago. As you may know, Seneca was born around the time Jesus was born. He was one of history's leading Stoic philosophers. In addition to being one of the wealthiest people of Rome and a statesman plus advisor to emperors, he was also a playwright and is considered the creator of the essay. In one of his great books called On the Shortness of Life, Seneca talks about the importance of giving our minds time to rest. Specifically, he says: "Our minds must relax: they will rise better and keener after a rest. Just as you must not force fertile farmland, as uninterrupted productivity will soon exhaust it, so constant effort will sap our mental vigour, while a short period of rest and relaxation will restore our powers. Unremitting effort leads to a kind of mental dullness and lethargy." He tells us that back in the good ol' days of the Roman senate, they couldn't introduce anything important after the tenth hour. Checking our math, we'll note that the sixth hour was for rest (and, as we discussed, is the origin of "siesta"). That was at noon. So, our 10th hour? That was 4pm. The ancient Roman senate didn't allow anything new to be introduced that would tax their brains after 4pm. If that policy was good enough for the Roman senate, I say it's good enough for our lives! (Hah.) Again, we've gotta give our minds time to rest. End your days at a reasonable time. Turn your brain off. Restore your power. Rise better and keener after a solid rest!

+1: #235 Regret, Science Of Jan 01, 2018

Show notes

Mark Twain tells us that twenty years from now we will be more disappointed by the things we didn't do than by the things we did do. So, he says, we should throw off the bowlines and sail away from the safe harbor—catching the trade winds in our sails. Get this: Science agrees. In The Myths of Happiness, Sonja Lyubomirsky walks us through the fact that we are surprisingly resilient in the face of adversity. And, we consistently overestimate how bad we'll feel in the future if something goes wrong. This is one of her "myths" of happiness. In fact, this is such a common phenomenon that scientists actually have a name for it. They say we have poor "affective forecasting" abilities. So, back to our quote to go for it. If you go for it and fail, odds are you'll bounce back faster than you think. But… If you don't go for it, you run the risk of torturing yourself with an infinite number of scenarios where it could have worked out. Enter: Regret. So… Do you have any dreams that you need to pursue? Here's to sailing away from the safe harbors—knowing we have what it takes to bounce back from the inevitable storms (and occasional shipwrecks)! Twenty years from now, let's look back with a smile at all the things we had the courage to do.

+1: #230 Marginal Gains Jan 01, 2018

Show notes

Once upon a time, no British cyclist had ever won the Tour de France. Over 100 years of trying, and, precisely, zero wins.

Then a guy named Sir David Brailsford stepped in and created Team Sky. He said that a British cyclist would win the Tour within five years. People thought he was crazy.

Until they won it in two years.

Then, for good measure, they won four of the next five races as well.

How'd he do it?

Marginal gains.

He looked for all the tiny little places where he could Optimize.

Things like making sure the riders uniforms were always washed in the same skin-friendly detergent for a little more comfort.

Things like making sure the riders always slept on the same exact mattresses every night to give them the best shot at a good night of sleep.

Things like making sure the hotel rooms were always properly vacuumed to reduce potential infections.

TINY little things.

Any one gain wouldn't do a whole lot, of course.

But, as we know, when you aggregate and compound enough of those tiny little incremental optimizations MAGIC happens.

In this case, Tour de France victories.

As Brailsford puts it (via Matthew Syed in Black Box Thinking): "I realized early on that having a grand strategy was futile on its own. You also have to look at the smaller level, figure out what is working and what isn't. Each step may be small, but the aggregation can be huge."

Guess what?

The same rules apply to our lives. A grand strategy, although important, is futile on its own. We need to go granular and figure out what's working and what isn't.

So… Today's +1.

What's working for you? Do more of it.

What's NOT working for you? Do less of it.

Specifically: Do you have a better day when you begin your day in a certain way? Do you have more energy when you eat less of x and more of y? Do you feel better when you exercise or go to bed by a certain time? What other data can you collect?

TEST!!! Get feedback. Look honestly at what's working and at what's not and dial it in.

FIND THE MARGINAL GAINS.

Not complicated. Easy to overlook. But super powerful.

Echo: When we aggregate and compound marginal gains over an extended period of time we get EXTRAORDINARY gains.

In cycling, that's what separates you from the pack and leads to Tour de France victories.

In life, that's what separates us from our old selves so we can actualize our potential.

Here's to marginal gains!

+1. +1. +1.

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