Optimize With Brian Johnson | More Wisdom In Less Time

In our last +1, we talked about how to sidestep depression and anxiety.    I still can’t believe that scientists have identified a threshold for our step counts under which we make ourselves more vulnerable for anxiety and depression.   As Kelly McGonigal tells us in The Joy of Movement: “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.”   Right before those step count thresholds, she tells us: “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

Alzheimer’s. Even just thinking about that dreaded disease freaks you out a bit, eh? Over 5 million people in the US alone have Alzheimer’s. 1 in 9 people over 65. We’re told that there’s little we can do to prevent it and even less (make that: nothing) we can do to reverse it. Well... What if we could put an End to Alzheimer’s? In his great book, The End of Alzheimers, and in this conversation, Dale Bredeson, MD shares how Alzheimer’s disease can be prevented, and in many cases its associated decline can be reversed.

In our last +1, we left Zeno the leopard gecko in his terrarium and hung out with Zeno the founder of Stoicism.   As we discussed, Zeno was a wealthy merchant who arrived in Athens via shipwreck, discovered philosophy and then told his students that “he had come to value wisdom more than wealth or reputation.”    He valued wisdom so much that he used to say: “My most profitable journey began on the day I was shipwrecked and lost my entire fortune.”    Today I want to talk about another Stoic practice we can use to get a firm grip on reality so we can alchemize our apparent misfortune into our greatest fortune.   Stepping back for a moment, let’s remind ourselves of the fact that the Stoics took the whole idea of living with wisdom VERY seriously.   They were ALL IN on playing the eudaimonia game and believed that living with virtue was THE means by which to win that game.    Therefore…   When a “disaster” struck, they stepped back (right there in between stimulus and response) and asked them

Virtues > Behaviors model. Big Ideas we explore include Superman + Clark Kent (who's who?), activating your Heroic Self (the science of), motivation and emotion (share a common Latin root), virtues as super powers (more on the science of), and Crossing the Threshold (Today the day?)."}" data-sheets-userformat= "{"2":769,"3":{"1":0},"11":3,"12":0}"> The Alter Ego Effect. This is one of the most fun and compelling and inspiring books I’ve read in a while. I REALLY (!!!) enjoyed reading it, had a ton of fun constructing and playing with some potential Alter Egos and highly recommend it. I also really enjoyed how high-performance coach and mental game strategist Todd Herman describes the science behind the power of “secret identities” to transform our lives and I loved the parallels between his perspective and our Big 3 Identities Virtues Behaviors model. Big Ideas we explore include Superman + Clark Kent (who's who?), activating your Heroic Self (the science of), motivation and emotion (share a common Latin roo

In our last couple +1s, we’ve been hanging out with Emerson, playing the “I Love You!” game and taking a quick look at the story of our world.   Today we’re going to spend a little more time with Emerson and history.   First: Quick aside.   At the Optimize Coach graduation weekend, it was amazing how many of our Coaches came up to Alexandra and me and told us how much THEIR KIDS loved seeing Emerson in the +1s. (I actually got misty typing that.)   They told us that the +1s with him were a great way to share the wisdom with their kids and that their kids looked forward to more +1s with the little philosopher.   So… Here we are.   Now…   Back to The Story of the World: Volume 2: From the Fall of Rome to the Rise of the Renaissance.   After the fall of Rome, Western Europe entered what is known as the “middle ages” or the “dark ages.” Then there was a “rebirth” or renewed interest in ancient ideals that fueled the Renaissance.   As you know, a key player in the Renaissance was a guy named G

In our last +1, we had fun with the ultimate riddles of life—from skunks and giraffes to watches and pearls.    And… The answer to pretty much all of life’s riddles?   Love.   After Emerson gave me that answer to the hero-virtue riddle, we went to visit the ladies in the bath to tell mommy about his answer.    Which, of course, led to a whole ‘nother round of riddles.    Today we’re going to talk about the riddle I got from Ellen Langer—the “mother of mindfulness” research and the creator of the “psychology of possibility.”   In our interview, she asked me this little riddle…   Ellen: “What’s 1 + 1?”   … Before we carry on, whaddya think? What’s 1 + 1? …   Got it? Awesome.    Now, back to the show…   Ellen: “What’s 1 + 1?” Me: “Uhhh…”    (The quick look inside my head in that moment: “I know the answer can’t be 2 but…” “Hmmmm…” Insert thought from Part X: “Well! At least we’re filming this so I’ll look ridiculous!” Quick reply by Optimus: “That wasn’t helpful Part X. Just have

Ellen Langer is a professor of psychology at Harvard and one of the world's leading experts on the science of wellbeing, and what she refers to as the "psychology of possibility." Dr. Langer was first female professor to gain tenure in the Psychology Department at Harvard University, and is the the author of eleven books--including Mindfulness, The Power of Mindful Learning, and her Counterclockwise--and more than two hundred research articles. She has been described as the “mother of mindfulness” and through her work, Dr. Langer challenges us to overcome our mindless patterns, let go of false limits, focus on the process and notice all the wonders present in our lives.

In our last +1, we spent some time with John Maxwell and reflected on his wisdom on the pinnacle of leadership influence: Moral Authority.   Recall: “Moral authority is the recognition of a person’s leadership influence based on who they are more than the position they hold. It is attained by authentic living that has built trust and it is sustained by successful leadership endeavors. It is earned by a lifetime of consistency. Leaders can strive to earn moral authority by the way they live, but only others can grant them moral authority.”   Today I want to talk about another little gem from his most recent book called Leadershift.   He tells us that Babe Ruth (apparently) said: “Yesterday’s home run won’t win today’s game.”   Isn’t that AWESOME?!   “Yesterday’s home run won’t win today’s game.”   That’s Today’s +1.   Yesterday’s home run?   Well…   Congrats on rocking it yesterday but…    That epic performance is not going to win TODAY’s game.   So…   Start again. (And again… And again…)

In our last +1, we talked about the research on the fact that The Pen Is Mightier Than the Keyboard: Advantages of Longhand Over Laptop Note Taking.   Today I want to talk about another way to make what we’re learning stick.   We’re going to consult with Barbara Oakley on this one.   Barbara taught one of the most popular classes in history. Nearly 2 million people from 200 countries have taken her Coursera class called Learning How to Learn.   She also wrote a book on how to learn called A Mind for Numbers where she tells us: “The legendary Charles Darwin would do much the same thing. When trying to explain a concept, he imagined someone had just walked into his study. He would put his pen down and try to explain the idea in the simplest terms. That helped him figure out how he would describe the concept in print. Along those lines, the website Reddit.com has a section called ‘Explain like I’m 5’ where anyone can make a post asking for a simple explanation of a complex topic.   You may think

In our last couple +1s, we talked about a key (arguably the #1 key) predictor of our long-term health/morbidity: our visceral fat.    We also discussed the Optimized WHtR (Waist-to-Height Ratio!) that gives us some insight on how we’re doing with that facet of our lives. (+1 +1 +1 for the

In our last +1, we talked about the PM ritual Pythagoras came up with 2,500 years ago (!) that the Stoics liked to follow:   "Allow not sleep to close your wearied eyes, Until you have reckoned up each daytime deed:   ‘Where did I go wrong? What did I do? And what duty’s left undone?’ From first to last review your acts and then Reprove yourself for wretched acts, but rejoice in those done well.”   Today we’ll step back a bit and put in an AM Intention practice to go with that PM Reflection practice.   Let’s go back to Donald Robertson’s How to Think Like a Roman Emperor.   He encourages us to follow another one of Aurelius’s practices and “Contemplate the Sage.” Specifically, he tells us that Marcus made it a practice to think about the virtues he admired in others that he aspired to put into practice in his own life.   He also tells us: “In addition to the virtues of real people, the Stoics were also known for contemplating the hypothetical character of an ideal Sage, or wise person

In our last +1, we had fun chatting about the diploma we give to our Optimize Coaches.   It so perfectly captures the underlying purpose of all of our work together that I’d like to share it again.    Here it is one more time: Having demonstrated a commitment to areté through the mastery of ancient wisdom, modern science, and the fundamentals of Optimal living—both in their own life and in service to others—let it be known that [INSERT YOUR NAME HERE] is hereby recognized as a Certified Optimize Coach and granted all privileges thereunto appertaining, for as long as they continue to demonstrate their commitment through practice. In witness whereof, we hereby commit to do our best to operationalize virtue and live with areté, honoring the fundamentals and striving to be our Optimize = Optimus = Best = Eudaimōn = Hērō selves in Energy, Work, and Love.               Today I want to chat about one particular subtle little thing from this section:    “… is hereby recognized as a Certified Optimize C

Last night as I was falling asleep, I was reflecting on the wonderful time I spent with a dear friend who came up to Ojai for a hike to chat about his next hero’s journey.    We talked about some of the key themes of our upcoming Mastery Series/Optimize Coach program. (Fun fact: Looks like he’ll be doing the program with TWO of his kids—which makes my soul smile.)   So…   One of the things we discussed was creating Masterpiece Days. Of course, we talked about the fact that our day starts the night before (PM counts twice!), the importance of being creative before we’re reactive and all that jazz.    We also spent a fair amount of time talking about The Fundamentals (Eat! Move! Sleep! Breathe! Be Present! Prosper!) and how important it is to Optimize our Energy so we can show up most fully in our Work and our Love.   But what I found myself thinking about as I was falling asleep was the fact that when most people start to think about architecting their ideal days, they start with “Time Manage

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 .