Optimize With Brian Johnson | More Wisdom In Less Time

An Update on Our Targeted Thinking Protocol   In our last +1, we continued our discussion about what to do when you’re going 0 for 12 in life and discussed the importance of doing that ONE thing that is most important RIGHT NOW.   Then, because I can’t go longer than a few +1s without referencing my tattoo that serves as the one-word summation of my entire philosophy, we brought my right forearm into the discussion and celebrated the ancient word ARETE.   (Cue Maui from Moana’s “You’re welcome!” for the incessant repetition. )   Today I want to chat about YET ANOTHER way to win that ultimate game of life—closing the gap between who you’re CAPABLE of being and who you’re ACTUALLY being RIGHT.THIS.SECOND!   It’s time to chat about Targeted Thinking. (Again.)   Since our last chat, I’ve refined my thinking on it. Here’s how I currently practice and teach it. (See Basic Training Objective 2, Lesson 5 for more!)    Actually…    First…   Here’s how I framed it in that +1 from a couple of ye

To Get What You REALLY Want   Not too long ago, we chatted about MLB All-Star Sean Casey (The Mayor!) going 0 for 12 one season when he was batting nearly .400.    As you may recall, his coach told him that he didn’t care about those numbers. What his coach cared about was whether or not he was dominating his protocol.   In that context, I asked you if YOU were going through a rough patch—perhaps feeling like you were going 0 for 12 in your Energy or your Work or your Love.   Then I gave you a couple of hugs as I playfully told you that I love ya () and… I don’t ultimately care about the current state of those things.    Then I said that what I DO care about is whether or not you are working your protocol.    I asked:   Do you know who you are at your best in your Energy, your Work and your Love? Are you recommitting to being that best version of yourself every morning?   Do you know what virtues that best version of you embodies? Are you recommitting to showing up with those virtues every mo

“Why Is It on the Ground Again?!”   In our last +1, we talked about our rooster, Happy. He’s still hanging in there.     Today I want to continue the theme we explored in that +1 and see if we can get better at using the things that currently trigger us to feel annoyed, to instead, trigger us to feel grateful.   Here’s an example from the Johnson house to help you think of things YOU might want to reframe in YOUR house.    So…   My son Emerson is a high-energy kid.    Note: I was going to say my “little guy” Emerson but he’s almost 10 as I type this and he’s NO LONGER little. It’s shocking to see the speed with which he’s growing!   As we’ve joked before, when he wakes up, he kinda runs out of the room like Kramer from Seinfeld—all energy all the time.    It’s FANTASTIC.   Except, of course, when it’s not. (Hah.)   So…   Mundane example.    For some strange reason, when Emerson uses the toilet paper in the bathroom, he often rips it off the little horizontal bar it rests on and the ro

Alchemizing Bread Crumbs, Dishes and Legos   Alexandra just walked into my office to tell me that she thinks our rooster, Happy, is dying.    Before we talk more about that…   Yes, our rooster’s name is Happy.    Emerson and Eleanor are phenomenal pet namers. We have Happy the Rooster, Lovey and Floppy and Spikey and Longbeak and Goldie the chickens.    Then there’s Zap—the dog that showed up on our property one New Year’s Day a couple of years ago and adopted us. And don’t forget Wags, another awesome dog who decided he wanted to move in one day as well.    Now…   If you’ve ever listened to one of my Zoom calls, you’ve probably heard a rooster in the background.    Sometimes, I have to admit, I find his crow charming while other times I find it distracting—whether it’s on a Zoom or in my morning meditation when he’s doing his thing RIGHT outside my office window.    But…   This rooster is truly an awesome rooster. We hatched him ourselves and he does his job protecting his hens Heroically

And… How to Make Yours Heroic    In the last few +1s, we spent some time talking about how to win the game of life by focusing on WHAT’S IMPORTANT RIGHT NOW.    I’d like to continue that discussion. And, this time, I’d like to invite my friend Sean Casey back to the party so he can share HIS insanely (!) inspiring take on the subject.    Quick context.    As we’ve discussed, Sean was voted the friendliest guy in baseball. They nicknamed him “The Mayor.” He’s now part of Major League Baseball’s Emmy-winning show MLB Tonight.    He also has his own podcast. It’s appropriately called “The Mayor’s Office.”   Recently, he had a guy on his show who was also a fan of Heroic. They had a little chat about the app.    And…   Sean WENT OFF about how the app has changed his life. It’s probably the best overview of the app (especially for sports fans!) I’ve ever seen.    It’s so good that I want to share it here now. So, let’s head to The Mayor’s Office for a special field trip. I’ll see you in less

Gandhi, the Gita, Bagger Vance, and YOU   In our last couple +1s, we’ve had fun hanging out with some world-class peak performance coaches: Harvey Dorfman and Phil Stutz.    What did they teach us?   They tell us that it’s ALL ABOUT focusing on the PROCESS of TAKING ACTION rather than the unhealthy obsession on the OUTCOMES.    They, of course, are not alone in this perspective.    We talk about it in one of my all-time favorite +1s called “Did I Win? How to Sink a $1m Putt and Do Other Great Things.”   Short story: Lanny Bassham worked with a golfer who hadn’t won in a while. Lanny told him to not even think about winning a tournament. Instead, they developed a protocol. His job was to EXECUTE that protocol every shot of every round he played.    Fast forward a few tournaments. It’s the final shot on the final hole on the final day of the tournament. Our golfer steps up, executes his protocol and makes the putt.   Then his wife runs onto the green and leaps into his arms.    His response?   “

On Action, Action, and More Action   In our last +1, we hung out with one of the friendliest guys in baseball (The Mayor Sean Casey!) and his legendary coach Harvey Dorfman.    I want to spend a little more time with Sean and bring another legendary coach to the party—MY coach, Phil Stutz.    It’s funny because when Sean told me the story shout how Harvey RUTHLESSLY focused on the process goals NOT the outcome goals, I immediately thought of Phil.    As we’ve discussed, Phil says the same thing in his own way.    He says that most people focus on the OUTCOMES in their lives when they should be focused on the ACTION they are taking in pursuit of their desired outcomes.    The way he frames it is to imagine pearls.    You can spend all your time COUNTING how many pearls you have (or don’t have!)…   Or…   You can ignore the counting and simply focus on STRINGING THE NEXT PEARL.    Over and over and over again we focus on what needs to get done right now.    What’s important RIGHT NOW?   Do

Who Cares? Work Your Protocol, Hero!   One of my new dear friends is a guy named Sean Casey.    Sean is a former Major League Baseball player. He was an All-Star who played first base. They called him “The Mayor” because he chatted up EVERYONE who made it to first base.     He was SUCH a nice guy that Sports Illustrated declared him the friendliest guy in baseball.    I met Sean through a mutual friend named Brian Cain who happens to be a longtime student of mine AND one of the world’s best mental toughness coaches. We’ll talk more about Cainer and his wisdom soon.    For now, I want to talk about a story Sean told me about his playing days. It goes something like this…   Once upon a time, while playing with the Cincinnati Reds, Sean was having an insanely great season.    It was summer time and he was batting near .400—which, if you know anything about baseball, you know is an insanely hard thing to do.    Then…   Sean went 0 for 12.    Now, going 0 for 12 is never a good thing for a pro

Breath + Heroes + Virtues + Stillness + Quest   In our last +1, we talked about my new Heroic Mantra Meditation practice.    Our one-word mantra?   Areté.    On the inhale…   Areté. Areté. Areté.    On the exhale.    Areté. Areté. Areté.   Repeat.    I actually came up with that idea while rowing. I paused the workout on my ol’ Suunto watch, went into the house, grabbed my batphone (that I use for offline/deep work mode stuff like this), and wrote that +1.    Then I got back to my workout. And started repeating my mantra.    ARETE. ARETE. ARETE.    Today I want to chat about my Heroic Meditation practice.    Nearly every day in the 18+ months after I founded Heroic, I meditated for an hour every morning. The connection I felt with my daimon and our Heroic vision has been GREATLY enhanced from the practice.    Here’s the Heroic meditation I created. You can make it work in as little as 3 minutes.    With VERY rare exceptions, I meditate at the same time every morning: right after I get up. 

Here It Is…   This morning a friend of mine (thank you, Jon!) sent me a link to an article on Ray Dalio’s meditation practice.    As you know if you’ve been following along, I’m a big fan of Dalio and his wisdom.    We’ve featured Notes on his great book Principles and the kids and I enjoyed his kids book as well.    We’ve also chatted about his 5-step process for success (note: Step 2 is FAILURE!!) as part of our “win or learn” and “learning is winning” so “win or win!” philosophy.    But…   It wasn’t until this morning that I learned about Dalio’s meditation practice.    He says it’s his secret weapon.    His approach?    Transcendental meditation. Otherwise known as TM.    The key features of that approach include two, twenty-minute meditation sessions. Dalio does his first session after waking up and his second before dinner.    Note: He reduces the variability of his behavior to increase the likelihood of making the habit stick which—as you know if you’ve gone th

Gandhi’s Great Soul (+ Yours!)   In our last +1, we talked about the fact that YOU are my all-time favorite hero. (It’s true.)   We also talked about the fact that, although every hero expresses it in different ways, EVERY (!) hero has the SAME superpower.    We named it… SOUL FORCE   Today I want to share a quick origin story on where I came up with that phrase.   But, first…   In case you’re wondering if you qualify to even aspire to be a “hero,” I have another question for you…   Do you happen to know what the word hero means?    As you may have heard me say before (and I promise I’ll say it again!)… It’s an ancient Greek word. Etymologically, the word hero doesn’t mean “killer of bad guys” or “tough guy” or anything like that it. It means “PROTECTOR."    A hero has strength for two. And, very importantly, a hero is willing to do the HARD work to HAVE that strength for two.    And, do you know what the secret weapon of the ancient hero was? LOVE.    It’s LOVE that fuels o

Here’s Their (and YOUR!) Superpower   In our last +1, we re-activated our +1 series and I made a 10,000-day commitment to you.    Well, technically I made a 10,319-day commitment to you.   Every day, from now until January 1, 2051, I commit to showing up in your inbox with a quick little splash of more wisdom in less time. If I don’t show up, assume either our technology died or I died. (Hah. Seriously.) (I’m all in.)   Why have I made that commitment?    That’s a very good question. With a range of possible answers.    One of the reasons can be found on one of the tattoos on my left forearm.    If you look closely above the “I” and the “C” in my “HEROIC” tattoo, you’ll see “51 | 2051.” Then, if you look closely below the “I” and the “C” in my “HEROIC” tattoo, you’ll see “101 | 1M.”   The 51 | 2051 represents my commitment to helping create a world in which 51% of humanity is flourishing by the year 2051. The 101 | 1M represents HOW we will do that.   The 101 is shortha

It’s +1 Day 1 Again. And Always!   Hi, This is Brian.    Welcome back to another +1.    This is +1 number 1,289.    And…   As you know if you’ve been following along, the last time I did a +1 was nearly two years ago—717 days ago to be precise. I took a little break to launch Heroic. I’m THRILLED to be back.    We used to call these little micro lessons “Optimize +1s.”   Going forward, we’re going to call them “Heroic +1s.”   When I first created the +1 series years ago (2005 days ago to be precise!), I committed to doing 1,000 days in a row. I wound up doing 1,288.    This time, I’m committing to doing over 10,000 (!!!) days in a row.    10,319 days in a row to be precise.    At which point I may consider taking a day off.    So…   If a new +1 doesn’t show up in your inbox, assume that either our technology died or… I died. (Hah!)   Seriously.    I’m ALL IN.    Why 10,319 days?   Because that’s how many days are left between now and January 1, 2051–the date by which we aspi

This video on is a sneak peek of the welcome video you will see Day 1 as part of Heroic Basic training, which will be available on the app on April 9th.    Watch the video above (and read the invitation letter here: https://www.heroic.us/obh from our Founder and CEO Brian Johnson) to learn all about our new Heroic social training platform that’s all about helping YOU to be the best, most Heroic version of yourself so we can change the world together—one person at a time, starting with you and me and us TODAY.   To learn more about the Heroic social training platform built to change the world by helping you be the best, most Heroic version of yourself, and how to save 50% off Heroic (… FOREVER!) go: www.heroic.us     To learn more about how to join the movement as a Heroic investor go to: www.heroic.us/invest   And if you haven’t already, you can get a lifetime premium Optimize by Heroic membership for FREE (used to be $250) as a gift from Heroic: www.heroic.us/optimize   ---   Certain informati

Are you showing up as the best, most Heroic version of yourself?   And if not, why not?    www.heroic.us  ← Go here to learn more about the Heroic social training platform built to change the world by helping you be the best, most Heroic version of yourself, and how to save 50% off Heroic… FOREVER!   To learn more about how to join the movement as a Heroic investor go to: www.heroic.us/invest   And if you haven’t already, you can get a lifetime premium Optimize by Heroic membership for FREE (used to be $250) as a gift from Heroic: www.heroic.us/optimize     ---   Certain information set forth in this message contains “forward-looking statements” under applicable securities laws(collectively referred to herein as forward-looking statements). Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as “anticipate,” intend,” “goal,” “plan,” “believe,” “expect,” “strategy,” “future,” “likely,” “may,” “should,” “would,”“will” and similar references to future periods. Except for statements of historical fact, th

Learn more about the Heroic social training platform built to change the world by helping you be the best, most Heroic version of yourself. www.heroic.us Learn more about how to join the movement as a Heroic investor: www.heroic.us/invest Get a lifetime premium Optimize Wisdom membership for FREE (used to be $250) as a gift from Heroic: www.optimize.me Note: Any time we mention our prospective next crowdfunding round, our attorneys tell us we should mention the following: Certain information set forth in this message contains “forward-looking statements” under applicable securities laws (collectively referred to herein as forward-looking statements). Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as “anticipate,” intend,” “goal,” “plan,” “believe,” “expect,” “strategy,” “future,” “likely,” “may,” “should,” “would,” “will” and similar references to future periods. Except for statements of historical fact, the information contained herein constitutes forward-looking statements and includes, b

Learn more about the Heroic social training platform built to change the world by helping you be the best, most Heroic version of yourself. www.heroic.us Learn more about how to join the movement as a Heroic investor: www.heroic.us/invest Get a lifetime premium Optimize Wisdom membership for FREE (used to be $250) as a gift from Heroic: www.optimize.me Note: Any time we mention our prospective next crowdfunding round, our attorneys tell us we should mention the following: Certain information set forth in this message contains “forward-looking statements” under applicable securities laws (collectively referred to herein as forward-looking statements). Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as “anticipate,” intend,” “goal,” “plan,” “believe,” “expect,” “strategy,” “future,” “likely,” “may,” “should,” “would,” “will” and similar references to future periods. Except for statements of historical fact, the information contained herein constitutes forward-looking statements and includes, b

In this Guest Faculty session for Optimize Coaches, Zach Bush MD and Optimize Head Coach Michael Balchan chat about connecting with our greatest potential, how to release ourselves from the fear that holds us back, and the practice of feeling life (vs just doing life).   To learn more about Zach Bush MD, visit zachbushmd.com.   And, are you ready to reach your full potential and close the gap between who you’re CAPABLE of being and who you’re ACTUALLY being?   The 300-Day Optimize Coach program is scientifically proven to help you be the best version of yourself.   In addition to our 7-module Mastery Series videos (which systematically walk through the most important facets for Optimizing your life), the program includes frequent Live Coaching sessions to help you actually move from Theory to Practice to Mastery.   Zach Bush is one of 60+ Luminaries who have shared their wisdom and ideas with our community in private live sessions just like this.    It's time to express the best version of yourself.   Check o

Get your FREE Optimize Membership → https://optimize.me/ Sign up for Optimize Coach--a scientifically-proven program that's usually $1,000. It's now $300. Class VIII starts January 3rd. Save $700 AND bring a friend for free when you sign up TODAY. → https://optimize.me/coach

I’m a HUGE fan of Phil and Barry's first book, The Tools. Coming Alive is kinda like The Tools Part 2. In this book, we get four new tools to go along with the original five tools. Big Ideas we explore include how to connect to our Life Force, defeat Part X (their name for that part of each of us that gets in the way), build our confidence and learn to see problems as gifts as we live a GREAT life.