Optimize With Brian Johnson | More Wisdom In Less Time

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Synopsis

OPTIMIZE with Brian Johnson features the best Big Ideas from the best optimal living books. More wisdom in less time to help you live your greatest life. (Learn more at optimize.me.)

Episodes

  • +1 #150: Hedonic Adaptation

    15/12/2017 Duration: 04min

    In our last +1 we hopped on a treadmill with Will Smith and Smokeybot. Today, let’s hop on a treadmill with well-being researcher Sonja Lyubomirsky. Sonja is one of the world’s leading experts on the science of what is called “hedonic adaptation.” Basically, hedonic adaptation is a fancy phrase for our tendency to get used to good things. The way we so easily adapt to awesome stuff is kinda like being on a treadmill. You get fired up about making $x per year or having a certain car or house or whatever then you get to that point and quickly adapt to it—now wanting the NEXT $X per year or house or car or whatever. Then guess what? There you are on your treadmill, working harder and harder and not going anywhere. That’s hedonic adaptation. On a related note, Maslow told us that getting used to our blessings is one of the most “nonevil evils” out there. It’s not an obvious evil-evil but it’s an evil thing nonetheless. So, how do we deal with this tendency to so quickly adapt and take things for granted a

  • +1 #145: Opportunities to Move

    14/12/2017 Duration: 04min

    Continuing our movement-is-good for you theme, let’s talk about how Michelle Segar looks at this. You may recall that Michelle is one of the world’s leading researchers on the science of actually DOING the things you know are good for you. In her book No Sweat she tells us that we need to find “opportunities to move” throughout the day. Her clients like to shorten that to OTMs. OTMs. Opportunities to Move. Little things. They exist all day, every day. And, if we want to make our TRILLIONS (!) of cells happy so we can shine with a deeper level of radiant, energized enthusiasm, we’d be wise to look for more OTMs throughout our day. Simple stuff. So mundane, unsexy and seemingly unimportant that we can easily overlook them. You know, like parking as far away from the store (or gym or whatever) as possible so you get a few more steps in. Or, even better, just walking to the store and leaving your car at home. Or, once you’re in the store, using a hand-held shopping basket rather than a cart. Tiny little

  • PNTV: The Way of the SEAL by Mark Divine

    13/12/2017 Duration: 15min

    A former U.S. Navy SEAL Commander, Mark Divine integrates the ancient warrior traditions with grounded, practical virtue and 21st century get-it-done effectiveness in a way that I find incredibly inspiring. Big Ideas we cover include the power of front-sight focus, how to DIRECT your mind, going Yoda on your commitments and creating micro goals when things are tough.

  • +1 #140: Stop Stopping

    12/12/2017 Duration: 03min

    Men’s Health says that Dean Karnazes is one of the 100 Fittest Men of ALL Time. He’s done crazy things—like running 350 miles at once. Plus running a marathon to the South Pole in negative 40 degrees. Then there was the time he ran 50 marathons in all 50 US states in 50 days—finishing with the NYC Marathon which he banged out in 3 hours flat. (Nice!) In our interview about his great book The Road to Sparta, I asked him what ONE piece of wisdom he would share with someone looking to Optimize their lives so they could make a positive difference in the world. His response? He quoted the ancient Chinese proverb: “Be not afraid of going slowly. Be afraid only of stopping.” Going slowly? Not a problem. Stopping? Eek. That’s when we get in trouble. Whether it’s writing a book or running a marathon or doing whatever challenging thing worthy of our attention, KEEP GOING!!! Steve Chandler has a great line for this. He says we need to “Stop stopping.” All of which leads us to today’s +1 Questions: What epic

  • PNTV: The Oxygen Advantage by Patrick McKeown

    11/12/2017 Duration: 15min

    Patrick McKeown is one of the world’s leading teachers of the Buteyko Breathing Method which was created in the 1950s by a Russian doctor named Dr. Konstantin Buteyko. McKeown suffered from asthma for decades until he found the Buteyko Method. At which point, he reversed his asthma symptoms and then dedicated his life to helping others optimize their breathing. In this book, he extends the Buteyko Method into an approach he calls the Oxygen Advantage. Big Ideas we cover include the #1 obstacle to optimal breathing, Oxygen Delivery 101, the #1 breathing tip, and how to dial in your sleep.

  • +1 #135: Repairing Relationships

    10/12/2017 Duration: 04min

    In our last +1 we chatted about the difference between FALLING in love and STANDING in love. It’s easy to fall in love. It’s considerably more challenging to stand in love—whether we’re talking about an intimate relationship with a significant other, a child or a dear friend. So, know this: We’re inevitably going to run into conflict and challenges in our intimate relationships. THAT’S A GIVEN Today’s +1 is a key practice for STANDING in love. Leading mindfulness and neuroscience and relationship expert Dan Siegel tells us that when something inevitably goes wrong in a relationship we want to REPAIR it as quickly as we can. One of the examples he uses to make his point is a story about a time when he, Mr. Mindfulness, “flipped his lid,” turning off his prefrontal cortex and going full limbic-lame yelling at one of his kids. (Laughing as I type that as a) It’s always refreshing to see a world-class teacher and practitioner humbly reminding us that no one is perfect and b) I very much know the feeling as

  • +1 #130: What's Your Partner’s #1 Self-Care Habit?

    09/12/2017 Duration: 03min

    In our last +1, we talked about the importance of identifying and installing your #1 self-care habit. Today I want to talk about another SUPER important thing: Identifying your significant other’s (or kids’ or friends’ or colleagues’) #1 self-care habit. Fact is, great relationships are only created by two healthy people. 1 + 1. If you want to Optimize the love in your life, you’d be wise to a) start by Optimizing yourself and b) support your partner (assuming they want the support!) Optimize THEIR lives. And our #1 self-care habit is a REALLY (like, Jumbo-REALLY!!!!) good place to start. For example, my #1 is sleep. Alexandra knows this. And, she knows that she doesn’t really want to be around me when I’m not meeting this fundamental need. So, we prioritize this to make sure I’m getting good sleep. (Thank you, Darling!!) Alexandra’s #1 self-care habit is time alone every day to meditate/reflect/create/etc. Knowing this, we prioritize it to make sure she gets that time. So… What’s YOUR #1. And… Wha

  • PNTV: Rethinking Narcissism by Craig Malkin

    08/12/2017 Duration: 15min

    Dr. Craig Malkin is an author, clinical psychologist, and Instructor of Psychology for Harvard Medical School. He’s also one of the world’s leading authorities on the science of narcissism. In this book, he shares “The bad—and surprising good—about feeling special.” The short story? Narcissism is a lot more nuanced than we might have been led to believe. Big Ideas we explore: the Myth of Narcissus, the Spectrum of Narcissism, healthy narcissism (no, that isn’t an oxymoron), how to bring it forth in our lives, and the passionate life (passion + compassion = magic!).

  • +1 #125: Follow Your Grunt

    07/12/2017 Duration: 03min

    In our last +1, we talked about Scott Adams’s wisdom on Wishing vs. Deciding (https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/deciding-vs-wishing/). The key difference? When we DECIDE, we get clear on what we want AND we get clear on the price we’ll need to pay. Then… We get busy paying it. Scott tells us that one of the ways to reduce the price and make it more palatable is to create systems. He’s ALL about systems. In fact, he tells us that “Goals are for losers.” (Hah.) We obviously need goals but he says we should, at the very least, word-glue them together so we have goals-systems or systems-goals. His point is that if all we’re doing is chasing a goal, we’re constantly going to be “losing” because the goal is always at some far-off spot we may never reach. On the other hand, when we figure out the SYSTEMS we’re constantly WINNING every single time we successfully execute the system. For example, if you’re trying to lose 20 pounds, you have a goal. Eating right is a system. Trying to run a 4-hour marathon is a g

  • PNTV: Coaching the Mental Game by Harvey Dorfman

    06/12/2017 Duration: 15min

    Harvey Dorfman was one of the world’s leading mental training experts. Major League Baseball described him as a “pioneering sports psychologist.” He earned World Series rings as the mental skills coach for both the Oakland A’s and Florida Marlins. In this book, he covers the A to Z of mental discipline. Big Ideas we explore include Carpe momentum (seize the task at hand!), the peak performance cycle (approach + results + response), the blind men (and their elephant), and Percussus Resurgo (“Struck down. I rise again!”).

  • +1 #120: Pulling Power

    05/12/2017 Duration: 03min

    In our last +1 we talked about the magic of creating a hoped-for future vision that has super-strong "Pull Power." Today we're going to talk about Pull Power's best friend, Pulling Power. Step 1. Create a vision for your future that truly fires you up. Got it? Great. Pull Power in place. Step 2. Now, imagine that future sitting there in a bag on the ground about 25 feet in front of you. That bag weighs a lot. It's tied to a rope that's right down by your feet. Step 3. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to sit down on the ground of your current reality, dig your heels in and PULL that bag of future awesome all the way to where you are. That's Pulling Power. It's what you do with the Pull Power. Steve Chandler captures this brilliantly in Wealth Warrior where he tells us: “The only good use of any future is artistic. You paint a picture of your positive imaginary future on your whiteboard. Then you PULL THAT PICTURE—WITH EVERY OUNCE OF STRENGTH YOU HAVE—into the present moment.” Today's +1

  • PNTV: Irresistible by Adam Alter

    04/12/2017 Duration: 17min

    Irresistible. That’s the perfect word to describe the growing array of addictive technologies that are capturing so much of our attention these days. And, it’s the perfect name for the book. Adam Alter is an associate professor of marketing at NYU’s Stern School of Business. This is a great book on, as the sub-title suggests, “The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked.” Big Ideas we explore include the fact Steve Jobs didn’t let his own kids use an iPad (why?), why addiction is about more than just personality (and what matters), how to add 11 years back to your life, what happens when your brain gets pickled and the simple question you can ask to Optimize.

  • +1 #115: Smile!

    04/12/2017 Duration: 03min

    Get this: Scientists can bring people into a lab and have them hold a pen in their mouths in one of two different ways to elicit two very different outcomes. One group comes in and holds a pen between their lips. The other group holds the pen between their teeth. (Try it to feel the difference!) Guess what? The group that holds the pen between their teeth (which, you may notice, creates a sort of smile) are HAPPIER at the end of the experiment than people who hold the pen between their lips (which, you may notice, creates a sort-of frown). Kinda nuts. How could something THAT simple lead to a significant change in well-being? Well, as we’ve discussed many times, FEELINGS follow BEHAVIORS. And, even something as mundane as unknowingly moving your happiness muscles into the shape of a smile can make you feel better. Moral of the story: Work today with a pen between your teeth! Hah. Not really. But, DO remember that feelings follow behavior. The little things you do matter. Stand up tall. Act the way yo

  • +1 #110: Desirable Difficulties

    02/12/2017 Duration: 04min

    We’re on a roll with the whole “embrace challenges on your epic quest!” theme so how about one more +1 on the subject? Malcolm Gladwell wrote a great book called David and Goliath in which he walks us through some fascinating stories that demonstrate the fact that sometimes what we perceive to be our greatest weaknesses can actually be turned into our greatest strengths. Scientists call these “desirable difficulties.” Imagine that, difficulties that are desirable. Like what? Well, how about a girl’s basketball team packed with kids with no experience playing basketball and, therefore, no traditional talent. Oh, and the head coach knows nothing about basketball. That’s a weakness right? Sure, but what if they turned that weakness into an asset? That’s what one team Gladwell features did. They decided to break all the rules and simply HUSTLE more than anyone else by running a full-court press all game. (Hah.) Which worked. It so disoriented their competitors who were used to people playing by traditional

  • +1 #105: Resistance Breathing

    30/11/2017 Duration: 03min

    What do you think is the most important, underappreciated muscle in your body? Think about that for a moment. What’s your guess? I think this is the most underappreciated muscle in my body: ___________________________. Well, get this: Breathing experts tell us that the award for the most underappreciated muscle in the human body goes to… your diaphragm—that little, SUPER (!) important muscle down there right below your lungs. Recall: You can live for weeks without food, days without water, and only minutes without oxygen—which makes breathing pretty important, eh? Yet, how often do you think about it? And, do you specifically train your breathing to make sure it’s optimized? If you’re like most people, the answer to the above questions is: “Never.” And, “No.” Today’s +1: Let’s hit the diaphragm gym. The simplest way to practice some “resistance” breathing? Breathe through your nose. All the time. Period. If you’re a mouth breather you’ll notice that breathing through your nose takes a little more wo

  • PNTV: The Progress Principle by Steven Kramer and Teresa Amabile

    29/11/2017 Duration: 16min

    Teresa Amabile is the Director of Research at Harvard Business School. It’s pretty much impossible to read a book on business, creativity, or happiness at work and not run into her research. She wrote this book with her husband, leading developmental psychologist Steven Kramer. In it, we learn the secret of joy, engagement and creativity at work. Hint: Small wins! On (important distinction) meaningful stuff. Big Ideas we explore include the power of our “inner work life,” the 3 key influences to optimizing it (progress, catalysts, nourishers) and how to get on the progress loop and stay on it!

  • +1 #100: Euthymia

    29/11/2017 Duration: 03min

    First: Welcome to our 100th +1. It’s a special milestone. Kinda excited about it.

  • PNTV: The Effective Executive by Peter F. Drucker

    27/11/2017 Duration: 19min

    Peter Drucker is considered the father of modern management. This book was originally published in 1967. It’s *remarkably* well written and lucid. And, of course, packed with Big Ideas on how to optimize our effectiveness. We cover the 5 key practices/habits of the effective executive: time (first things first; second things never!), contribution (what can you contribute?), strengths (make yours productive; make weaknesses irrelevant), concentration (the secret to effectiveness), decisions (boundary conditions help).

  • +1 #95: Mediocrity vs. Excellence

    27/11/2017 Duration: 03min

    In our last few +1s, we’ve been chatting about reaching the Peak of our potential. What’s the alternative? Well, did you know that the Latin root of the word mediocre LITERALLY means to get stuck in the middle of a rugged mountain? Yep. Medius = “middle.” Ocris = “rugged mountain.” Mediocrity. That’s not where we want to get stuck.

  • +1 #90: Your Declaration of Independence

    25/11/2017 Duration: 05min

    For those of you in the States celebrating today, Happy Independence Day. For everyone else around the world, Happy 4th of July!

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