Optimize With Brian Johnson | More Wisdom In Less Time

You ever struggle with perfectionism? If so, it’s time to learn how to be an imperfectionist! Stephen Guise (author of Mini Habits), shows us the way. Big Ideas include being a poser, living within floors and ceilings, thinking vs. doing, pulling the lever, and cultivating result apathy.

Bernard Roth has been a Professor of Engineering at Stanford for over FIFTY (!!) years. A pioneer in the field of robotics, Bernie is one of the founders of the famed d.school at Stanford. In this great book, he brings the concepts of design thinking to life in the context of our most important design project: designing our optimal lives. Big Ideas we explore include the 5 elements of design thinking, doing vs. trying, ignoring odds, and being the cause.

This is a fantastic, old school psychology classic. Written in 1975, Albert Ellis (see Notes on A Guide to Rational Living) says it’s “One of the best self help books ever written.” Lazarus and Fay walk us through 20 of the most common mistakes that can ruin our lives and, of course, how to correct them. Big Ideas include myths about change, the 2 things we need to do to change, and optimizing our locus of control.

How do you want to die? With a calm serenity knowing you gave your best or with deep regret that you never took the risks and cultivated the discipline to show up with urgency and diligence each day to create a life of deep meaning? The answer is obvious. Big Ideas we explore on how to die empty include optimism vs. wishing, the root of mediocrity, the 3 S’s of goal setting and dealing with The Lag.

Ready to 10X your thinking and your action? Fantastic. Grant Cardone is your man. In this high intensity, LET'S DO THIS! book you'll get fired up to go out and crush it. Big Ideas we explore include how to create goals, why MASSIVE ACTION is so important, how to starve fear, why obsession is a gift not a disease and how Smokey would smoke the tortoise and the hare.

How’s your habit-building process working for you? If you’ve stalled a few (hundred?) times, Stephen Guise tells us that Mini Habits might be just the thing you’re looking for! In the Note we look at what a Mini Habit is and how to go about rockin’ it exploring Big Ideas like making habits stupid small (aka “too small to fail”), embracing Newton’s 1st law, and being aware of ego depletion as you create your chain!

Dr. Michelle Segar is the world’s leading authority on what motivates people to choose and maintain healthy behaviors. As you’d imagine, Dr. Segar has some *really* powerful ideas on, as the sub-title suggests, “How the simple science of motivation can bring you a lifetime of fitness.” Big Ideas we explore include the importance of meaning, moving exercise from a chore to a gift and embracing a learning mindset.

Why do we get fat? It’s a surprisingly simple question that surprisingly few nutrition experts answer with attention to scientific rigor. Enter: Gary Taubes, a brilliant, award-winning science journalist. In this Note we’ll explore some Big Ideas on the importance of the hormone insulin, why carbs are kinda like cigarettes and the Stanford A TO Z Study that showed low-carb diets outperforming others.

Toughness. Jim Loehr tells us that cultivating our toughness is the essence of creating healthier, happier and more productive lives. And, in this great, old-school book (written in 1993), he shows us how to go about doing that. Big Ideas we explore in the Note include how toughening happens (key: adaptive stress!!), the importance of training recovery, ultradian rhythms and emotional phones ringing.

Rory Vaden tells us we can choose one of three options: 1. We can manage our time. 2. We can prioritize our time. 3. We can multiply our time. The most successful among us learn how to MULTIPLY their time and that’s what this book is all about. Big Ideas explored include the 5 Permissions (Eliminate + Automate + Delegate + Procrastinate + Concentrate) with a focus on the most important: Eliminate!!

Ready to go wild?! John Ratey, MD, and Richard Manning are here to give us the guidebook on how to make that happen! In the Note, we explore Big Ideas ranging from wild nutrition to getting out of bad moods, getting adequate sleep and pulling levers that will change our lives!

When you appraoch a set of stairs and an escalator what do you do? If you're like 95% of the world, you hop on the escalator but Rory Vaden tells us if we want true success in our lives we need to quit looking for shortcuts and Take the Stairs! In the Note we'll look at how to quit being a Should-head, embrace the Pain Paradox and get our Visioneering on.

Steven Pressfield created a trilogy on mastering the creative process and winning our battle with Resistance. The War of Art kicked it off, this is the second installment with the final Turning Pro. In the book, Pressfield walks us thru a specific project and shows us how to deal with Resistance at each stage. Big Ideas we explore incude starting before you're ready, keep working (!), and SHIP!!

Jeff Olson is a down-to-earth, super practical (and successful) guy who believes in the power of turning simple disciplines into massive success. He calls that power “The Slight Edge.” In the Note, we’ll explore Big Ideas ranging from the anti-quantum leap and making course corrections to the habits of a slight edge master and how to create optimal plans.

Jim Loehr is one of the world’s leading sports psychologists and peak performance experts. In this great book, he tells us how all champions are able to access their Ideal Performance States, why we want to lean into challenges, how to make waves throughout out day and the first rule of toughness.

Orison Swett Marden is a brilliant old-school writer who mixed a passionate optimism in our potential with an equally passionate commitment to integrity, grit, perseverance and all things good. I like him. In this book he shows us how to make our life a masterpiece by becoming the captain of our own ships, doing first-class work, and finding an hour a day to optimize as we achieving true success.

Ready to get your brain right? Start with your gut! In this compelling book, Dr. David Perlmutter walks us through the leading-edge science on how to dial in our microbiome to optimize our brain + overall well-being. In the Note, we explore Big Ideas ranging from the power of probiotics and your second brain to the importnace of focusing on root causes rather than just symptoms along with the 6 keys to feeding your microbes.

David Perlmutter, MD combines his deep knowledge in neuroscience + nutrition in this hard-hitting, scientifically rigorous look at how, in short, grains are destroying our brains. Dementia. ADHD. Epilepsy. Anxiety. Chronic headaches. Depression. They all have their roots in neurological dysfunction and they are all impacted by our nutrition. In the Note we take a look at some powerful Big Ideas to optimize.

Ready to apply mindfulness to learning and teaching? That's what this book is all about as Ellen Langer challenges seven pervasive myths related to learning. In the Note we explore Ideas ranging from reframing, ever-present gratification and creating options to mindful presentations and celebrating confusion.

Ellen Langer is one of the world's leading researchers studying the science of well-being. This book was was published over 25 years ago—before the concept of “mindfulness” went mainstream. Ellen takes a Western scientific orientation to mindfulness (vis-a-vis an Eastern mystical) as she 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.