Optimize With Brian Johnson | More Wisdom In Less Time

In our last +1, we talked about LeBron James and the fact that he tries to get 11 to 12 hours of sleep per day when he's training. (So does Roger Federer. And, Tom Brady is in bed at 8:30.)    Let's talk about LeBron a little more today.    Renowned mental toughness coach Bob Rotella kicks off his book How Champions Think with a story about how LeBron thinks.    It goes something like this.   Once upon a time early in LeBron's career, Rotella spent some time working with LeBron. He knew the basics. Six-eight. A chiseled two hundred fifty pounds with explosive speed. A proven superstar. But it wasn't until they sat down and chatted that he REALLY got LeBron's power.   Rotella asked him about his goals. LeBron told him: "I want to be the greatest basketball player in history."    Rotella thought: "Beautiful. This is a truly talented guy."    He tells us what he was MOST impressed by: "It was not that he had physical gifts. It was LeBr

Susan Peirce Thompson is a Professor of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at the University of Rochester. She's an expert in the psychology of eating and creator of Bright Line Eating Solutions, "a company dedicated to helping people achieve long-term, sustainable weight loss." Plus... She used to be obese and, as she says, addicted to *everything.* She integrates her background in neuroscience with her personal experience conquering her diet and other addiction issues in this super popular book. Big Ideas we explore include why bright lines are where it's at, the susceptibility quiz, the saboteur, self-perception theory, and the four bright lines of eating.

Solitude. It's the secret sauce to leadership. But... In their great book Raymond Kethledge and Michael Erwin tells us: "Solitude is a state of mind, a space where you can focus on your own thoughts without distraction, with a power to bring mind and soul together in clear-eyed conviction. Like a great wave that saturates everything in its path, however, handheld devices and other media now leave us awash with the thoughts of others. We are losing solitude without even realizing it." Big Ideas we explore include the big 4 of solitude (clarity + creativity + emotional balance + moral courage), the threats from our "Input Age," how MLK and Eisenhower used solitude, FOMO (get over it!) and how to change the world (starting with YOU!).

Today I'd like to talk about a little more wisdom from Seth Godin's Icarus Deception.    As we've discussed, his book (and his entire body of work for that matter), is basically a plea for us to step up and into our highest potential.    He tells us: "Your ability to follow directions is not the secret to your success. You are hiding your best work, your best insight, and your best self from us every day."   That's inspiringly true.    (Note the references to "your best," "your best," "your best." And, think: Optimus, optimus, optimus.)   But here's the passage that's been rattling around in my head: "It's too bad that so much time has been wasted, but it would be unforgivable to wait any longer. You have the ability to contribute so much. We need you, now."   It's funny because when I recalled that passage in my head, I thought he said, "It's unfortunate that so much time has been wasted. But it would be unforgivable to wait any longer

Robert Lustig is a Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology and a member of the Institute for Health Policy Studies at University of California, San Francisco. He has authored 120 peer-reviewed articles and 70 reviews and is a leading voice on childhood obesity. And, his YouTube video "Sugar: The Bitter Truth" has been viewed over 7 million times. Obesity is a global pandemic. It's astonishing how rapidly it's expanding. And it's COMPLETELY preventable. Lustig has dedicated his career to helping us understand the causes and how to "beat the odds against sugar, processed food, obesity and disease." Big Ideas we explore include: Meeting the Darth Vader of the Food Empire ("Hi, sugar!"), two hormones driving the show (insulin + leptin), which fat you need to worry about most (big belly vs. big butt fat!), why so many diets work (reduced sugar + fiber), exercise (best ROI in medicine) and voting with ever dollar we *don't* spend.

With all this talk about sports heroes and scoring touchdowns and winning forever, I think it's time to remind ourselves that sports simply provide the perfect (over-simplified) context for SPIRITUAL truths.    That's why we love watching the Olympics, Super Bowls and World Cups so much. When we watch an athlete performing at their absolute (optimus!) best we're simply reminded of our own heroic potential.   Of course, we want to make sure we get off the couch and get into the arena of life and use their demonstration of greatness as an inspiration for our own pursuit of excellence (rather than as mere entertainment by people who are somehow gifted in ways in which we aren't).   (Remember: According to Anders Ericsson, the preeminent researcher on what makes great people great: We ALL have "The Gift.")   So…   Bringing it back the spiritual arena, Today we're going to talk about Rumi.   As you may know, Rumi was one of the greatest spiritual beings in history a

Elizabeth Blackburn won the Nobel Prize for her discovery of telemorase - "the enzyme that replenishes telomeres, which protect our genetic heritage." Elissa Epel is one of the world's leading health psychology researcher. Together, they have created a great book that walks us through the best of what we know about telomeres, why they're so important and what we can do to Optimize them. If you've ever wanted to learn more about telomeres, THIS is the book to read. Big Ideas we explore include why telomeres are the secret sauce to aging well, the fact that your cells are listening to your thoughts (#1 tip? Shift from a threat response to a challenge response!), how to mind your telomeres (move from negative thinking to resilient thinking), how to eat, move, sleep your way to happy telomeres, and a challenging question: What will YOUR cellular legacy be?

Robb Wolf is a former research biochemist and is one of the leading thinkers/writers/practitioners in the Paleo or Ancestral Health movement. The essence of this book is the that while there are general principles of nutrition that work for everyone AND... Ultimately we need to figure out what works best for us as individuals if we want to rock it. Big Ideas we explore include: the fact that one size diets do NOT fit all (remember: "rough" tools vs. precision tools), discordance theory (there's a mismatch between our genes and our environment!), an anti-inflammatory diet (aka Paleo aka Phase I), personalized nutrition (aka 7-Day Carb test aka Phase II), the other pillars of health (sleep, stress, move, connection), and genetic + environmental lotteries (what to do if you lost them--lol).

A couple +1s ago, we talked about Optimizer Jessica's kind words and then had fun talking about Mr. Anonymous Troll Guy as well.   Today I want to talk about a line from Jessica's little note that I didn't share before.    In addition to her kind words about my commitment to sharing my own struggles and how that has helped her build resilience, she said this: "Furthermore, the partnership he and Alexandra have built is exemplary — I only wish they weren't so hard to emulate!"   Now, again, I'm super touched by that and honored that we serve as potential relationship exemplars and I know Jessica wasn't saying that she thought we were perfect…   AND…   (Laughing as I type this…)   As Maslow said and we discuss ALL THE TIME (but still nowhere near enough!), THERE ARE NO PERFECT HUMANS. And, by extension, THERE ARE NO PERFECT RELATIONSHIPS.   And, as I always like to say: You and I won't be the first perfect people. Nor will we have the first perfect relationship.

James Clear has a super-popular website (jamesclear.com). Millions of people visit it every month and hundreds of thousands subscribe to his email newsletter. After reading this book, I can see why. He's a great writer and distills the essence of habit formation into, well, its fundamental components—the "atomic" structure if you will—while showing us how those TINY little incremental improvements add up to MIGHTY results. I rarely say a book is a must-read but this one's as close as it gets. Big Ideas we explore include: The math behind 1% gains compounding over a year (and a decade!), navigating the Plateau of Latent Potential (ever given up on a habit? Take note!), the importance (and etymology) of our Identity (get this: it *literally* means 'repeated being ness'), The 4 Laws of Behavior Change (remember: cue + craving + response + reward and... make it obvious, make it attractive, make it easy, make it satisfying), and the Sorites Paradox (can a single habit change your life?).

Optimize: https://optimize.me/ (← Get Free Stuff + Free 2-Week Trial!) Optimize Coach: https://optimize.me/coach (← Join 2,000+ Optimizers from 70+ Countries!) Here are 5 of my favorite Big Ideas from "Atomic Habits" by James Clear. Hope you enjoy! James Clear has a super-popular website (jamesclear.com). Millions of people visit it every month and hundreds of thousands subscribe to his email newsletter. After reading this book, I can see why. He's a great writer and distills the essence of habit formation into, well, its fundamental components—the "atomic" structure if you will—while showing us how those TINY little incremental improvements add up to MIGHTY results. I rarely say a book is a must-read but this one's as close as it gets. Big Ideas we explore include: The math behind 1% gains compounding over a year (and a decade!), navigating the Plateau of Latent Potential (ever given up on a habit? Take note!), the importance (and etymology) of our Identity (get this: it *literally* means 'repeated being

In our last +1, we met one of my heroes, Mrs. Kristie Kuehnast. I smile with joy (and in awe) every time I imagine her fifth-grade students coming back into the classroom after their mile run to sit down and watch a new +1 or PNTV.    High fives, Kristie. We appreciate you. (Oh! Please walk through a cloning machine about 50 million times. Thank you.)   We also briefly touched on Yuval Noah Harari's perspective on the subject of Education. Today I want to revisit some more wisdom from his new book.   As we discussed, Yuval shines a spotlight on 21 of the biggest challenges facing humanity in the 21st century. With the rise of artificial intelligence, information technology and biotechnology, things are changing at an incomprehensible speed. And, it's only going to speed up, not slow down.   He tells us: "The danger is that if we invest too much in developing AI and too little in developing human consciousness, the very sophisticated artificial intelligence of computers mi

Weight. It matters. A lot. Although I'm obviously not a weight-loss guy, as I prepped for Energy 101 I realized that we needed to talk about Optimizing our weight. Enter, this class—which could more accurately be called Optimal METABOLISM 101. Fact is, if our weight is off, our METABOLISM is off. Specifically, our insulin levels (which disrupts another hormone called leptin that regulates our appetite). In this class, we take a quick look at why it's so hard to Optimize our weight and how to make it easy (or at least a lot easier!). 

A few +1s ago, we talked about Walter Russell and the sound of joy.    Today I'd like to talk about another one of his powerful insights.   Here it is.    He tells us: "Mediocrity is self-inflicted. Genius is self-bestowed."   Here's the slightly longer version: "I believe that every man has consummate genius within him. Some appear to have it more than others only because they are aware of it more than others are, and the awareness or unawareness of it is what makes each one of them into masters or holds them down to mediocrity. I believe that mediocrity is self-inflicted and that genius is self-bestowed."   Today's +1 is very simple.   Are you bestowing genius upon yourself or inflicting mediocrity?   Well, which is it?   Genius. Mediocrity.   I agree with Walter (and countless other teachers). We ALL have "consummate" (Golden Buddha!) genius within ourselves.    Can you see it?

This is Steven Pressfield's 19th book. It's the 10th book of his I've read and it's the 4th book on which I've done a Note. As with all of his books, this one is written in his inimitable, pithy style. (In fact, as I consulted my dictionary for the precise definition of the word pithy, I realized just how much his style epitomizes that word. Pithy means "concise and forcefully expressive.") Big Ideas we explore include defining the artist's journey (vis-a-vis the hero's journey; note: we all live both journeys!!), our #1 job (say hello to your muse), the superconsciousness (shuttle back and forth!), destiny acorns (daimon meet genius), how to let your soul shine (hint: SHOW UP!), Jay-Z in his studio (enter: 10,000 micro hero's journeys), and: Ready or not (you're called!!).

Jeff Volek and Stephen Phinney are both academic researchers and professors who have been studying sports nutrition, ketogenic diets and peak performance for decades. To put it in perspective, Dr. Stephen Phinney (with his MD from Stanford and PhD from MIT) coined the phrase "keto-adapted" in 1980. Big Ideas we explore include: the accepted dogma (vs. compelling data), two fuel tanks (you want to go hours or days?), veto-adaptation (how to), protein (necessary but in moderation), fat (your most important fuel; the good and bad!), and the macro breakdown (here it is!).

In our last couple +1s, we talked about the lead-up to a recent keynote talk I gave and some wisdom gleaned in the process—including practicing the "Bring it on!" and "I'm excited!" tools THE MOMENT I experienced doubt/fear/etc. and… Hanging towels over mirrors to reduce the ol' self-consciousness.   Today I want to talk about being a ballet dancer. (Hah.)   Well, actually, I want to talk about some of my favorite feedback from the event. I had some great conversations with the people at the event but one nice little comment really stuck.   Short story: While I was holding Eleanor while Alexandra and Emerson were enjoying a quick little hot tub session at the hotel on Friday night, a woman who attended the event strolled by. We had a nice little Love 2.0 moment.    She told me that she was trained in Russian ballet and that one of the first things she noticed when I started talking was my posture.    She said that in her ballet training, she was taught to simulta