Optimize With Brian Johnson | More Wisdom In Less Time

Emily Fletcher was a Broadway performer living the dream.   Only…   Her hair was graying at 27, she was always stressed and had chronic insomnia.   One of her fellow Broadway performers was always super calm and confident. Emily asked her how she did it. The woman told her that she meditated. Emily rolled her eyes. Then she decided to give meditation a try.   After ONE day of meditation, her insomnia was gone. She was hooked. Soon after, she quit Broadway, traveled to India to study more deeply then became a meditation teacher and created something called the “Ziva Technique” which she’s taught to thousands of people.   In her book Stress Less, Accomplish More, Emily walks us through the science of WHY meditation is so powerful and then introduces us to the “3 M’s” of her Z Technique: Mindfulness, Meditation and Manifesting.   As you know if you’ve been following along, I’m a HUGE fan of meditation. I’ve missed ONE day in the last 12+ years.    If you’ve been looking for a book that will help you

This is Optimize +1 #1,000.   I don’t really know how to best start this one other than by saying:    Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.   Seriously. I am so honored to be a part of your life—whether that’s occasionally or every day. And I’m deeply grateful to have your support so I can do what I do.   Thank you.   Today I want to celebrate YOU.   And…   I want to shine a special light of awesome on all of you heroically gritty Optimizers who have actually been with us for ALL 1,000 Optimize +1s.    !!!   We’ve actually created a little virtual Hall of Fame. It’s time to induct our first wave of honorees. (If we missed you, sorry! Please let us know and we’ll retroactively add you!)   Ahem. Here we go…   charles agrusa Kay Garkusha Peggy Rakas SYLVIO FERREIRA TORRES Nat Barcellini Tricia Nelson Jaya Chauhan Hussein Jinnah Jordan Bernard Angèle Verrier Judi Wearing Khaled Sultan Georgina Ingram Hal Simonson Angela Stokes Gianni Bergandi Solène Hyordey Esther Ratsch SRINIVAS BNS

In our last +1, we hung out with my two favorite Joes: Scholar of the Hero’s Journey (and Grandpa in my spiritual family tree) Joseph Campbell, and gritty heroic exemplar (and soul brother), Joe De Sena.   Today I want to spend a little more time with Joe De Sena.   Let’s open up his latest book The Spartan Way. Page 14.   He tells us: “Through work and endurance racing I have come to know many people. Some of them were unforgettable. These great ones all shared the same core qualities. I call them the Spartan Core Virtues. Combine these qualities into one person and you have the ideal boss, the valuable employee, the perfect business partner, or comrade in any endeavor. Here’s a short description of each of the Spartan Core Virtues.   Self-Awareness: Know who you are and who you are not. If you don’t, you’ll be confused daily.    Commitment: Stick to it because the world is filled with people who don’t. You’re better than that.   Passion: If you’re not passionate about what you do, you’re not

Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness have written a couple great books together. First, they gave us Peak Performance. Then The Passion Paradox.   Today we’re going to talk about one of the central themes of The Passion Paradox. (Tomorrow we’ll chat about some goodness from Peak Performance.)   So…   Passion.   It’s AWESOME!   Except when it isn’t.   Enter: The Passion Paradox.   As Brad and Steve put it: “Mindlessly living with a passion can be extremely harmful and destructive. Mindfully living with a passion can be the key to a life well lived.”   They tell us that psychologists differentiate two types of passion by calling the unhealthy kind “Obsessive Passion” and the healthy kind “Harmonious Passion.”   Obsessive Passion is toxic. It has two primary facets: 1. Focusing too much on extrinsic results (like fame, wealth, achievement, etc.); 2. Being too worried about failure.   Harmonious Passion, on the other hand, gives us a deep sense of joy. Whereas the toxic passion is focused on

In our last +1, we did our best Boss impersonation as we reinterpreted our sweaty palms and racing hearts as a sign we’re EXCITED and READY TO GO rather than as a sign that something’s wrong.   When I read that passage in Marie’s book, I immediately thought of some parallel wisdom from Jon Eliot’s Overachievement.   Recall that Eliot is the guy who told us that we want to keep our V-12 engines and learn how to manage all that power rather than swap it out for a lawnmower engine. And, he told us that we want to be more like squirrels than Einstein when we get ready to perform.     So…   Here’s the passage I thought of as I read about the Boss’s Bossness.   Eliot tells us: “The physical symptoms of fight-or-flight are what the human body has learned over thousands of years to operate more efficiently and at the highest level. Anxiety is a cognitive interpretation of that physical response.”   Aha!   That energy we feel when we’re about to perform?    Eliot tells us we need to remember two more t

A few +1s ago, we had fun chatting about the starting and finish lines of my first business, eteamz.    I mentioned that it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows and we briefly discussed the fact that I’ve failed WAY MORE times than I’ve succeeded.   (btw. As a recovering fixed-mindset perfectionist, it was therapeutic for me to type that. Hah. Seriously.)   Today we’re going to remind ourselves to embrace the mis-takes and failures of life that INEVITABLY (and NECESSARILY!!) occur as we strive to do great things in pursuit of mastering ourselves in service to the world.   This gem is pretty epic and worth contemplating: “The master has failed more times than the beginner has even tried.”   Then there’s Adam Grant’s wisdom from Originals where he quotes Randy Komisar—one of the best entrepreneurs/investors alive: “Whether you’re generating or evaluating new ideas the best you can do is measure success on the kind of yardstick that batters use in baseball. As Randy Komisar puts it, ‘If I’m hitting .

We talk a lot about the futility of arguing with reality.   As Byron Katie so perfectly says, “When I argue with reality I lose. But only 100% of the time.” (Hah.)   Today we’re going to take another look at that wisdom from a slightly different angle.   We’ll invite a couple of modern Zen Masters to the party: Joko Beck and Phil Jackson.   We’ll start with legendary basketball coach Phil Jackson’s wisdom. In his book Sacred Hoops, he tells us: “In Zen it is said that the gap between accepting things the way they are and wishing them to be otherwise is ‘the tenth of an inch of difference between heaven and hell.’ If we can accept whatever we’ve been dealt—no matter how unwelcome—the way to proceed eventually becomes clear. This is what is meant by right action: the capacity to observe what’s happening and act appropriately, without being distracted by self-centered thoughts. If we rage and resist, our angry, fearful minds have trouble quieting down sufficiently to allow us to act in the most bene

In our last +1, we spent some time with Todd Herman, Batman, Dora the Explorer and YOUR most heroic self.   Today we’re going to connect all that goodness to wisdom from the classic peak-performance book The Inner Game of Tennis by Tim Gallwey.   Here’s how he puts it: “‘Asking for qualities’ describes the other kind of role-playing. When introducing this idea, I usually say something like this: ‘Imagine that I am the director of a television series. Knowing that you are an actor that plays tennis, I ask if you would like to do a bit part as a top-flight tennis player. I assure you that you needn’t worry about hitting the ball out or into the net because the camera will only be focused on you and will not follow the ball. What I’m mainly interested in is that you adopt professional mannerisms, and that you swing your racket with super self-assurance. Above all, your face must express no self-doubt. You should look as if you are hitting every ball exactly where you want to. Really get into the role, h

In our last +1, we revisited Ellen Langer at her “Psychology of Possibility” lab at Harvard to learn that words matter.    As you may recall, simply priming people with words associated with old age (via a crossword puzzle!) will cause them to walk more slowly to the elevator than those who weren’t primed with those words.   *rubs eyes*   One more time: Astonishing, eh?    And…   One more time: WORDS MATTER. A lot.   Langer shares that study and wisdom in her book Counterclockwise in a section in which she also talks about “placebos” and other truly fascinating studies.   Here’s how she puts it: “When we see mind and body as parts of a single entity, the research on placebos takes on new meaning and suggests we can not only control much of our disease experience, but we may also be able to extend our ability to gain, recover, or enhance our health.   Placebos often come in the form of a single word that captures a richer mindset. In one study I conducted with my students, we explored the mi

Geoff Colvin’s Talent Is Overrated is a great book.   It falls into the “Effort Counts Twice” / Deliberate Practice bucket of how to reach our Peak via Grit, etc.   It’s packed with great stories about, as per the sub-title of the book: “What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else.”   (Here’s a short hint to the answer: “No matter who they were, or what explanation of their performance was being advanced, it always took them many years to become excellent, and if a person achieves elite status only after many years of toil, assigning the principal role in that success to innate gifts becomes problematic, to say the least.”)   (Note: That doesn’t mean Talent Is IRRELEVANT, just OVERRATED when compared to extraordinarily hard work. Again: See Effort Counts Twice for Angela Duckworth’s math on the subject!)   So…   Today I want to share one of my favorite stories from that book.   Here it is.   Colvin tells us: “A study of figure skaters found that sub-elite skaters spent lo

The other day I found myself re-reading our Notes on Christopher McDougall’s great book Natural Born Heroes.   Although we’ve talked (many times) about the fact that the ancient word for hero literally meant “protector,” I realized that (somehow!) I’ve never shared McDougall’s brilliant wisdom that catalyzed my emphasis on the whole idea of all of us becoming modern heroes.   So…   Let’s take a quick look at how McDougall so wisely puts it.   He tells us: “And what Plutarch taught them is this: Heroes care. True heroism, as the ancients understood, isn’t about strength, or boldness, or even courage. It’s about compassion.   When the Greeks created the heroic ideal, they didn’t choose a word that mean ‘Dies Trying’ or ‘Massacres Bad Guy.’ They went with hērōs—‘protector.’ Heroes aren’t perfect; with a god as one parent and a mortal as the other, they’re perpetually teetering between two destinies. What tips them toward greatness is a sidekick, a human connection who helps turn the spigot

As we’ve discussed, a mantra is literally “a tool of the mind.”   By repeating a mantra over and over and over again (spiritual teachers say!), it takes hold in our subconscious and subtly shapes our mind.   Eknath Easwaran is a huge fan and advocate of mantras. He sold me on their power years ago and I’ve experimented with many but I haven’t really found one that stuck.    Until now…   I think I might have found my new go-to mantra.   Here it is: “Thank you.”   As in: “Thank You. Thank You. Thank You.”   Followed by: “Thank You. Thank You. Thank You. Thank You. Thank You. Thank You.”   Followed up by: “Thank You. Thank You. Thank You. Thank You. Thank You. Thank You. Thank You. Thank You. Thank You.”   Repeat.   Especially when you find yourself triggered by something (or someone).   “Thank You. Thank You. Thank You.” “Thank You. Thank You. Thank You.” “Thank You. Thank You. Thank You.”   It’s kinda weird what happens when I do that.   I go from feeling stressed/annoyed/wha

Not too long ago, we talked about Sleep Curfews. Five of them, to be precise.    One for Caffeine. Another for Exercise. Plus Eating. Plus Screens. Plus Work.   As you may recall, Caffeine has a half-life of 5 to 6 hours so try to cut back on that by around noon or 2 or whatever you find works best for you.    Exercise late in the day gets your core temperature all jacked up when it should be mellowing out, so aim for at least 3 hours before bedtime. (And, remember that exercise also gives you a 12-hour mood boost so might as well pop a happy pill early in the day, eh?)   Eating was a fun one. The standard advice is to eat at least 2 hours before bedtime. (And def don’t snack right before/in the middle of the night.) Want to go gonzo with the glymph? Eat at least 4 (FOUR!) hours before bedtime.    Then we have Screens. Again, turn off the screens AT LEAST an hour before bed. More if you’re feeling it.   Finally, we had a Work “shut-down complete” target. We left that one up to

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!!

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 abou

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 ca

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.

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

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