Optimize With Brian Johnson | More Wisdom In Less Time

What to Do the Next Time That Happens   Brian Cain is one of the world's greatest mental toughness coaches.    His client list includes four Major League Baseball Cy-Young Award winners, eight UFC world champion mixed martial artists, World Series and Super Bowl Champions and MVPs, Olympic medalists, and countless other elite athletes and coaches.    He's also a friend and longtime student of mine who has his clients read PhilosophersNotes to go to the next level. (Cainer: !!!)   We're going to be talking about him and his wisdom more in the weeks and months ahead—check out the PhilosophersNotes on his books The 10 Pillars of Mental Performance Mastery and One Percent Better.    Today I want to chat about one of his clients.    Quick context.    Brian recently visited me and the Johnson fam out here in the country outside of Austin. The kids and wifey and I had fun learning how to eat fire and break an arrow with our necks and do

Stay in the Ring and Let's Go!   In our last +1, we spent some time riding appropriately big waves and reminded ourselves that, when we're wisely surfing the beautiful oceans of life, we remember to ENJOY the waves.    Today we're going to bring my all-time favorite teacher (Epictetus!) back to the party to hear his take on the subject.    But…    Before we go there…   Let's pause for a moment and think about the great big-wave surfer, Laird Hamilton.    The guy is obsessed about finding THE BIGGEST POSSIBLE WAVES HE CAN FIND!    Why?   Because that's how he knows he can see what he's made of and HAVE THE MOST FUN!!   Crazy?   Of course.    And that's how he is fulfilling his idiosyncratic, Heroic destiny and inspiring all of us to do the same in our own unique ways as well.    Side note: Have you seen Finding Joe yet? Laird tells his story in it. Along with Tony Hawk. They talk about all the FEA

With Yoda and Laird   In our last +1, we revisited our thinking on our Targeted Thinking practice.    As you may recall, we added a Step 0 to the protocol that involved accepting our reality COMPLETELY before we shift to figuring out how we'd like to create a better reality and what, specifically, we will do RIGHT NOW to create it.    Today I want to chat more about acceptance.    We'll bring my Yoda, Phil Stutz, back to the party to tap into more of his near-infinite wisdom.    Btw. Phil and I have been working together for nearly six years now. It's remarkable to me just how deep we can go these days as I have fun truly practicing my and our philosophy at deeper and deeper levels.    Btw2. The reason I'm able to practice even more deeply is because I have taken on bigger and bigger challenges—as Phil says, I'm dealing with "real bullets" now.    And, as another dear friend and mentor (Matt McCall!) puts it: I'm officially working

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…  

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

"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

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 roost

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,

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 o

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

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…  

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 a

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 hi

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 s

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 10

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.&n

This podcast is a sneak peek of the welcome you will see Day 1 as part of Heroic Basic training, which will be available on the app on April 9th. Head to https://heroic.us 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 how to join the movement as a Heroic investor go to: https://wefunder.com/heroic  --- 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

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. To learn more about how to join the movement as a Heroic investor go to: https://wefunder.com/heroic  --- 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, but is not limited to, the (i) projected financial performance of Heroic; 

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

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: https://wefunder.com/heroic  --- 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, but is not limited to, the (i) projected financial performance of Heroic; (ii) completion of, and t