You Are Heroic with Brian Johnson

Optimal Weight 101 (Intro)

02 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

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 Optimizi...

+1: #605 Genius Is Self-Bestowed

01 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

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.   Her...

PNTV: The Artist's Journey by Steven Pressfield

29 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

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,...

PNTV: The Art and Science of Low-Carbohydrate Performance by Jeff Volek & Stephen Phinney

27 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Jeff Volek and Stephen Phinney are both academic researchers and professors who have been studying sports nutrition, ketogenic diets and peak perform...

+1: #600 Ballet, Anyone?

26 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

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...

+1: #595 The 1-Hour (Deep) Workday

21 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

We've been talking a fair amount about the idea that some of history's greatest creators didn't work all that much. To be clear, they worked hard a...

+1: #590 The 4-Hour Workday

16 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In our last +1, we talked about the fact that we need to train our recovery the same way we train our Deep Work. We want to create nice, rhythmic wav...

PNTV: 12 Rules For Life by Jordan B. Peterson

14 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Jordan Peterson is one of the world's leading intellectuals. He's a Canadian clinical psychologist and professor at the University of Toronto. (Before...

+1: #585 You and the Swami Spartan

11 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Continuing our theme of wisdom gleaned from Zen Optimize in the Art of Spartan Racing, let's talk about spiritual obstacle course racer, Sri Swami ...

PNTV: Lead Yourself First by Raymond M. Kethledge and Michael S. Erwin

08 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Here are 5 of my favorite Big Ideas from "Lead Yourself First" by Raymond M. Kethledge and Michael S. Erwin. Hope you enjoy!

PNTV: The Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle

06 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Here are 5 of my favorite Big Ideas from "The Nicomachean Ethics" by Aristotle. Hope you enjoy! Aristotle's writings have been extraordinarily influen...

+1: #580 Average vs. Elite

06 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In our last +1, we talked about Zen in the Art of Spartan Spear Throwing and the recent installation of a spear throw setup in our backyard, complete...

PNTV: Reinventing Yourself by Steve Chandler

01 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Here are 5 of my favorite Big Ideas from "Reinventing Yourself" by Steve Chandler. Hope you enjoy! I got this book years ago when I first started work...

+1: #575 You, Horseshoes & Autonomous Cars

01 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In our last +1, we talked about the fact that Americans check their phones 8 BILLION times every day. (Wow.)    We also talked about the fact tha...

Energy 101 (Intro)

31 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

We're going to have a hard time actualizing our potential if we have a hard time getting out of bed. Energy is SUPER important. In fact, it's the engi...

+1: #570 Champ Champ Champ

27 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In our last +1, we talked about my quest to be a Spartan champion in 2025 and how that's resulted in a lot of WINing TODAY. (How're your goals-syst...

Energy 101 - Behind-the-Scenes Overview!

26 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Here's a quick look at our next class: Energy 101!  (You can get instant access to dozens of archived classes, hundreds of PhilosophersNotes and Opt...

Optimizing for the Modern Hērō 101 (Intro)

23 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

I created this class after my friend Matt McCall (who helps run the Pritzker Group Venture Capital fund) asked me to do a talk for 60 of their portfol...

+1: #560 Full Effort = Full Victory

17 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

We've been talking a lot about how champions maximize minutes—giving everything they've got into being the best versions of themselves.   Thank y...

+1: #555 Strong Ego = Ticket to Divine

12 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In our last +1, we continued our chat about the fact that your perfection is already there. It's just waiting for you to follow Rule #1 and quit doin...

+1: #550 Envy Begone

07 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In our last +1, we talked about the science of social comparison and reiterated the fact that it's toxic.   Remember, as per Sonja Lyubomirsky: "Y...

Play 101 (Intro)

07 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Alexandra joins us as a guest teacher for this class! Learn how to activate your superpowers, increase your mojo & have more fun.

+1: #545 Being a Champion

02 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In our last +1, we talked about my mission to become a Spartan World Champion.    My heart skips a beat just typing that.   (Which, btw, is a go...

+1: #540 Meet the 250-Foot Tall You

27 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

A few +1s ago we talked about Stuart Wilde. He's an old-school self-help teacher who used to lecture with Wayne Dyer and Louise Hay and Deepak Chopra...

+1: #530 Hagfish Are Pretty Freaky

17 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Continuing our underwater theme for a moment longer, have you ever heard of hagfish?   They're pretty creepy. (I apologize in advance for the vi...

+1: #525 Work or Play?

12 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In our last +1, we talked about W.H. Auden's (genius) quip that routine, in an intelligent person, is a sign of ambition. (I laugh with joy every...

+1: #520 The $7 Trillion Mind-Hacking Industry

07 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

A couple +1s ago, while celebrating Yuval Noah Harari's lack of a smartphone, I mentioned the fact that we don't need to become smashing Luddites i...

+1: #515 Running Experiments

02 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In our last +1, we talked about Professor Harari's two world maps—one before The Scientific Revolution that was all filled in (including areas ...

+1: #510 Demonstration vs. Instruction

28 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Wallace D. Wattles was an old-school Philosopher-Optimizer who wrote The Science of Getting Rich. He also wrote a little book called The Science of ...

Optimizing Algorithms 101 (Intro)

26 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

+1: #505 Solvitur Ambulando

23 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Today we're going to talk about walking.   Walking is awesome. In fact, it's so old-school epically awesome in helping thinkers think that our anci...

+1: #500 Thrown a Perfect Game Lately?

18 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In our last +1, we talked about the fact that batting .300 over the course of your Major League Baseball career gets you in the Hall of Fame.   Tod...

+1: #495 Conquering Hero vs. Suffering Martyr

13 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In our last +1, we talked about the science of daydreaming. Quick recap: Stay out of the "poor attention control" and "guilty-dysphoric" realms a...

+1: #485 The Rules of Breathing

03 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In our last couple +1s, we've talked about your breathing. If you haven't checked out the full Optimal Breathing 101 master class yet, you might dig...

Conquering Digital Addiction 101 (Intro)

29 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

​​Technology is, obviously, awesome. We've been using "tech" tools for 2.5 million years since our protohuman ancestors first picked up a stone an...

+1: #480 Put Your Name on a Sheet

29 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Since our time with George Leonard exploring his ideas on Mastery, I've been thinking about him a lot.   I realized that I forgot to share another...

Optimal Breathing 101 (Intro)

27 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Breathing. It's easy to take for granted but when you stop to think about it, it quickly becomes obvious just how powerful it is. Get this: You can li...

+1: #475 Want Recognition?

24 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Continuing our good times with Confucius, here's one of the gems from his Analects that has tattooed itself on my brain since I read it a decade ag...

+1: #470 How to Win the Olympic Games

19 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

I can't resist. One more +1 on Aristotle.   So… The Olympic Games started in Olympia (not too far outside of Athens) in 776 BC.   A few centu...

+1: #465 Virtuous Activity of the Soul

14 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In our last +1, we talked about Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics and the fact that his word for "happiness" was VERY different than our word.  ...

+1: #460 Delete THAT App

09 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In our last +1, we talked about the fact that 25 minutes every day = 2 YEARS of your life.    Did you figure out how you're wasting time and make ...

+1: #455 The Master

04 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

George Leonard was an aikido master who wrote a great little book called Mastery.    It's a tiny little book packed with a ton of wisdom. I highl...

+1: #450 Food Poisons Part 2

29 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In our last +1, we talked about Rule #1 of Nutrition. You remember what it was?   Basic idea: It's not what you start eating that has the most po...

+1: #445 Sentence Completions

24 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Nathaniel Branden was a fascinating guy. As a teenager he wrote a fan letter to Ayn Rand—which she ignored. Then he wrote another letter a little ...

+1: #440 Exercise vs. Zoloft

19 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

We've talked about how exercise is kinda like taking a little bit of Ritalin and a little bit of Prozac, but somehow we've gotten this far into our ...

+1: #435 Other Image 101

14 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In Self-Image 101, we talked about how to create the most heroically awesome version of yourself by integrating the "Optimus" you and the "en*theo...

Food 101 (Intro)

10 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

+1: #430 Chewing on 100k Words Per Day

09 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Here's another little gem from Dan Pink's To Sell Is Human. (The man is a brilliant writer and a treasure-trove of goodness.)   He tells us that...

+1: #425 It's Always Hard

04 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Emerson is learning how to read and I'm the lucky guy who gets to teach him.   The other day Emerson wrote his first word: "mom." Then he busted ...

+1: #420 WOOPy WOOP!

30 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Yesterday we reviewed our Motivation Equation. I hope you took the time to hang out with your #1 Wildly Important Goal and run it through the little ...

+1: #415 Your Grand Purpose

25 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

One of the themes we come back to again and again is the basic idea of loving what is — whether that's via Byron Katie's wisdom or the Stoics o...

+1 #410 Command & (/or) Obey

20 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Nietzsche tells us: "He who cannot command himself should obey. And many can command themselves, but much is still lack...

+1: #422 Levity + Gravity = Buoyancy

02 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Dan Pink tells us that To Sell Is Human.   Although only 1 in 9 Americans is technically in sales, he says that the other 8 in 9 spend a ton of ...

+1: #390 Cancer's Achilles: How to Exploit

30 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In our last +1, we talked about our 80/20 180 phase in which we implemented a number of high-leverage lifestyle changes.   After that stabilization...

Public Speaking 101 (Intro)

28 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

This is an introduction to Public Speaking 101. Get the workbook + watch the full class here: https://www.optimize.me/public-speaking We've had a lot ...

+1: #385 Two Theories on the Origins of Cancer

25 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

So, on one hand, as per our last +1, science shows that genes play a surprisingly small role in the cause of cancer.   Yet…   Guess where nearl...

Cooking 101 (Intro)

21 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

What You Can Do on a Daily Basis to Optimize Your Nutrition in an Easy and Practical Way.

+1: #380 Seneca Says: Be Harsh with Yourself at Times

20 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In our last couple +1s, we had some fun at the hospital with our Stoic friends Seneca and Epictetus.    Recall Epictetus' wisdom that sometimes go...

+1: #375 You, a Farmer and His Horse

15 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Once upon a time in a land far away, there was an old farmer.   This man had a horse.   Then, one day, his horse ran away.    All the neighbor...

+1: #370 Mistake-Learner's High

10 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In our last +1, we talked about Phil Stutz' great phrase: "Endlessly evolving process."   Phil likes to draw upward spiraling loops to describe th...

+1: #365 Fingers and Lectures

05 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Please extend your pointer finger and shake it as if you're lecturing someone — saying something like, "You shouldn't do this, this and this! Do t...

Conquering Cancer 102 (Intro)

31 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

+1: #360 Isn't That Extreme?

31 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Susan Peirce Thompson wrote a great book called Bright Line Eating. She has a Ph.D. in neuroscience and is one of the world's leading experts on the...

+1: #355 The Decade View

26 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Matthew Kelly has written a number of great books. We have Notes on three of them: Perfectly Yourself, The Rhythm of Life and Off Balance.   In...

+1: #350 Wealth thru Profound Service

21 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

When I worked with Steve Chandler, one of the themes of our work together was "creating wealth through profound service."   I just love that phra...

+1: #345 No More Ice Cubes, Please

16 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

A couple +1s ago we talked about taking a systems approach to disease vs. just a symptoms approach. We referenced Dr. Junger's metaphor of a wis...

+1: #340 How to Win the Cancer War

11 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Continuing our Anticancer theme, let's chat about another brilliant idea from David Servan-Schreiber's book, Anticancer.   Imagine this.   It's ...

+1: #335 Meet Your Telomeres

02 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Elizabeth Blackburn won a Nobel Prize for her research on telomerase — the enzyme that nourishes our telomeres. She wrote a book called The Telo...

+1: #330 Hit the Rock

01 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In our last +1, we took a quick look at Warren Buffett's three-step goal setting process and then chatted about how it fits into our Big 3: Energy + ...

Conquering Cancer 101: How I'm Helping My Brother Fight Cancer + What I'd Share With You (Intro)

25 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

This is an introduction to CONQUERING CANCER 101. Get the workbook + watch the full Conquering Cancer 101 class here: https://www.optimize.me/cancer/ ...

+1: #325 The Psychology of Hope

24 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Rick Snyder was the founder of research into the science of hope. And, he was one of the pioneers of the positive psychology movement. In fact, he l...

+1: #320 You, Buddha and Your Fundies

19 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In No Mud, No Lotus, Thich Nhat Hanh tells us that when he was a young monk he thought the Buddha never suffered.    Then, as he matured, he rea...

+1: #315 Expecto Patronum!

14 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Continuing our Harry Potter theme, let's explore how to deal with dementors in your life.   Recall that dementors are big, ugly, wraith-like crea...

+1: #310 The 2nd Arrow

09 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In No Mud, No Lotus, Thich Nhat Hanh tells us that suffering is a part of life.    You can't create a beautiful lotus flower without some stinky ...

PNTV: The Art of Connection by Michael Gelb (#371)

07 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Optimize: https://optimize.me/ (← Get Free Stuff + Free 2-Week Trial!) Optimize Coach: https://optimize.me/coach (← Join 2,000+ Optimizers from 70...

+1: #305 Spiritual Farts

04 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

​​In our last +1, we explored the analytics of American farting behaviors and compared that to the even more prolific Facebook-liking behaviors. (...

PNTV: Wired to Create by Carolyn Gregoire and Scott Barry Kaufman

02 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

This book started out as a blog post by Carolyn Gregoire based on Scott Barry Kaufman's work that went viral: 18 Things Highly Creative People Do Diff...

PNTV: The Happiness Track by Emma Seppälä (#369)

31 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Optimize: https://optimize.me/ (← Get Free Stuff + Free 2-Week Trial!) Optimize Coach: https://optimize.me/coach (← Join 2,000+ Optimizers from 70...

+1: #300 Play Well the Given Part

31 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Epictetus told us that we don't always get to pick the position we have in life. Our job is to make sure we play that role well.    Specifically, ...

Abundance 101 (Intro)

28 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

I created 25 classes before we got to money/wealth/etc. That was deliberate. (Virtue for the win!) And… It was fun to create this class and share my...

PNTV: Head Strong by Dave Asprey

26 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Dave Asprey is a fascinating guy. He's a professional bio-hacking machine whose publicly-stated goal is to live to 180. We covered his last book calle...

+ 1: #295 Newton's First Law: Fine Print

26 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In our last +1 we talked about Isaac Newton and his First Law of Motion. Recall the basics: An object at rest will stay at rest. An object in motion ...

PNTV: The As If Principle by Richard Wiseman (#367)

24 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Optimize: https://optimize.me/ (← Get Free Stuff + Free 2-Week Trial!) Optimize Coach: https://optimize.me/coach (← Join 2,000+ Optimizers from 70...

PNTV: Trying Not to Try by Edward Slingerland

18 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Optimize: https://optimize.me/ (← Get Free Stuff + Free 2-Week Trial!) Optimize Coach: https://optimize.me/coach (← Join 2,000+ Optimizers from 70...

+1: #285 How Are You Intelligent?

15 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In our last +1, we had fun hanging out with your Genius.    Recall: EVERYONE in ancient Roman times was said to have their own guiding spirit, or ...

PNTV: Breathe by Dr. Belisa Vranich (#364)

12 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Optimize: https://optimize.me/ (← Get Free Stuff + Free 2-Week Trial!) Optimize Coach: https://optimize.me/coach (← Join 2,000+ Optimizers from 70...

PNTV: Smarter Faster Better by Charles Duhigg (#365)

11 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Charles Duhigg is a Pulitzer Prize-winning NY Times journalist (and Harvard MBA) who wrote the best-selling book The Power of Habit in which he walked...

+1: #280 How to Flourish

10 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Martin Seligman is basically the Godfather of the Positive Psychology movement. He's written a number of seminal books on the science of well-being. ...

PNTV: The Ultra Mindset by Travis Macy with John Hanc (#362)

08 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Optimize: https://optimize.me/ (← Get Free Stuff + Free 2-Week Trial!) Optimize Coach: https://optimize.me/coach (← Join 2,000+ Optimizers from 70...

+1: #275 First Things First

05 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

One of Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is "First Things First." He also wrote a whole book by the same name.   But you know where...

PNTV: Barking Up the Wrong Tree by Eric Barker (#363)

03 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Eric Barker is the creator of the blog Barking Up the Wrong Tree, which "presents science-based answers and expert insight on how to be awesome at lif...

+1: #250 Incremental to Bam!

01 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

As all parents know, one of the most amazing things about having kids is watching them hit new milestones—when, one day, they can do what was impos...

+1: #245 On a Bad Team?

01 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In our last +1, Navy SEALs Jocko Willink and Leif Babin told us that leadership is all about EXTREME Ownership. No excuses. No blaming. Ever.   The...

+1: #240 Our Minds Must Relax

01 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In our last +1, we talked about the Cal Newport-inspired "Shut-down complete!"   First, quick check in: You win that game?   Get this: Seneca wa...

+1: #235 Regret, Science Of

01 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Mark Twain tells us that twenty years from now we will be more disappointed by the things we didn't do than by the things we did do. So, he says, we...

+1: #230 Marginal Gains

01 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Once upon a time, no British cyclist had ever won the Tour de France. Over 100 years of trying, and, precisely, zero wins. Then a guy named Sir Dav...

+1: #225 How to Avoid Burnout

01 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Continuing our theme of sharpening our saw and resting before we get tired, let's figure out how to avoid burnout.   Tal Ben-Shahar wrote a great b...

+1: #220 Put First Things First

01 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

We're officially on a roll with the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. We've covered Habit #1: Be Proactive and Habit #2: Begin with the End in Mind...

+1: #215 Proving Yourself Right

01 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

When Peyton Manning was released from the Indianapolis Colts after fourteen seasons, a number of teams recruited him. He picked the Denver Broncos.  ...

+1: #210 You + Michelangelo + Your Potential

01 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Legend has it that when Michelangelo stepped up to a block of marble, he could see the finished statue in his mind's eye. His job was simple: Get ri...