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HERO TRAINING 101 LIVE
w/ Brian Johnson & Optimize A Philosopher's Apprentice's Notes ( @michael on The Oasis )
“It’s time for each of us to step up and express the highest version of ourselves in service to our families, communities, countries and world.” - Brian Johnson
ABOUT In April 2017, Brian Johnson and Optimize Enterprises hosted a three-day event titled Hero
Training 101. It was jam-packed with ancient wisdom, modern science, common sense, virtue,
mastery, fun, laughter, tears, love, hugs, high �ves, good food, great vibes, and a few surprises.
I was lucky enough to attend, and these are the notes I took over the course of the weekend -
my version of the "Enchiridion for Heroes" that Brian encouraged us to make. The event
alternated between structure and spontaneity, with Brian being (in his words), a "�re hydrant" of
wisdom. The initial format was to be 100 tools separated into ten broad categories, but we
(thankfully) didn't go through each tool one by one. So, I did my best to capture what I could and
organize it in a way that made sense to me.
Approximately 99.9% of the material came directly from Brian. What isn't attributed to him (or
other teachers) as a direct quote is mostly a paraphrasing of what was presented. If I wasn’t
con�dent in my notes, or if it was a longer quote, I added "after" to maintain validity. Any
mistakes or errors are my own.
I also tried to make a note of, and occasionally link to, any Philosophers Notes or Master Classes
referenced. However, to honor the energy and integrity of the event, I haven't included any
additional sources, ideas, or materials other than what was presented over the course of the
weekend. Notes on the �lm Finding Joe can be found at the end, as well as links to the VIA
Character Strengths Assessment and the Bill Moyers & Joseph Campbell Interview Series.
Finally, as Brian said so many times, make this your own! Feel free to do with it what you'd like. If
you're here and aren't a member of the Optimal Living program yet, we’d love for you to join us !
Michael
PS. Although Shakespeare said, "Brevity is the soul of wit," and Brian's 6th-grade teacher said,
"Short and sweet is hard to beat," my intention here was to be thorough and comprehensive.
PPS. Please excuse any formatting or spelling errors. I'm trying to honor the "ship before it's
ready," and I know it's not perfect.
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2
HERO TRAINING 101 LIVE w/ Brian Johnson & Optimize 1
ABOUT 1
ADDITIONAL DOCUMENT FORMATS 2
INTRODUCTION 6
ENCHIRIDION FOR HEROES Quest. +1. Tools. 6
Enchiridion = "Ready at Hand." Like a sword. (vs. a "Handbook") 6
"This is my way, what is your way? there is no the way." - Nietzsche #mq 6
Be the exemplar. "Be the change. [...] My life is my message." - Gandhi #mq 6
THREE THEMES 7
1. Quest : What is your heroic quest? 7
2. +1 ( +1 +1 +1 +1... ) 7
3. Tools 7
10 PRINCIPLES FOR HEROIC LIVING Broadly in three buckets of Mind, Body, Spirit 9
OVERVIEW 10
MIND 12
1. Antifragile Con�dence (+Hope): The essence of the hero. 12
What's in your control? 90/90 + Stoicism 12
Antifragility. "Bring it on!" 13
True Con�dence = Intense Trust. No matter what happens, "I got this." 13
Emotional Stamina + Identity -> Behaviors -> Feelings. Commit to Being Committed 14
Catching Turnarounds . The U + Equanimity Game 15
Stockdale Paradox & Functional Optimism. Faith + Facts 16
Barbell strategy . Super aggressive + Super conservative. 16
Hope (Antifragile style). Believe future will be better. Have agency to create it. Do whatever it takes.17
Mindset: Growth (vs. Fixed) Learn and do another take. 17
Victim vs. Hero . CREATE what YOU want. 19
Win or Learn . Well, Learn, Optimize --> Be Antifragile 20
Self-E�cacy : 4 Aspects to Con�dence (According to Science) 20
Grit: Intense passion and intense persistence. (Willpower)^2 22
2. Purpose 23
Hedgehog Model. Love. Great. Need. - Jim Collins 23
Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic 24
Be willing to not know . "Genius is the ability to tolerate ambiguity." - Unknown #mq 25
3
Experiment & Iterate . Be willing to die. 25
Choose the path with heart. You know which one it is. 26
Social comparison is toxic . Just don't do it. 27
Make-Tradeo�s . To prioritize what's important. 27
Project-ise . Happy people have projects. 28
For more on Purpose , or getting additional clarity: 28
Purpose <--> Self-Awareness 28
3. Self-Awareness 28
What do you REALLY want? 28
"Know thyself" - Temple of Apollo at Delphi 28
Best Selves Diary. You in 5 years #journal #exercise 29
Masterpiece Days . Iterate Macro + Micro #journal #exercise 29
+1/-1. Putting it into practice! #journal #exercise 30
The Big 3 : Energy, Family, Service #journal #exercise 30
Body 31
4. Goals & Systems 31
High Ceiling + Low Floor. Both. 31
Systems . Process. 32
Dominoes . Line them up. 32
Win early. Use your best energy wisely. 33
Covey's 4 Quadrants Move from IV to II 33
Timelines . Smarter ones. 34
5. Action 34
Deep Work . High intensity of focus. 34
WOOP . Wish. Outcome/Bene�t. Obstacle. Plan. 35
Body of work. Pros are proli�c. 36
Accrete Value. Take advantage of the compound e�ect. 37
Single handle . Start --> �nish. 37
"Sit or stand, don't wobble." - Buddha #mq 37
6. Energy 37
Eat . Real food. High fat + greens. 37
Move . OTM + 25 min 38
Sleep . ~8 hours + naps 38
Breathing and Attention Training. Hit the mental gym. 39
"How are your fundamentals?" - Brian Johnson #mq 40
Use willpower wisely . Play o�ense and commit 100% 40
"Borrow" energy strategically, not habitually . (ex: ca�eine) 41
Hedonic pleasure vs. Eudaimonic pleasure. Rede�ning "fun." 41
Optimized Motivation. Make the connection between what you do and how you feel. 42
4
Spirit 42
7. Wisdom 42
Be a Warrior of the Mind . Go from knowledge, theory, and ideas, to practice. 42
Flexibility . Like a river between structure and spontaneity. 42
Ego . Healthy and powerful. 43
The Engaged Master. Live intensely. 43
Yes + And . Both. Transcend and include. 44
Learn from Masters. Deeply. 45
States and Stages. Do the work. 45
Guard your attention. "I don't know, and I don't care." - Ryan Holiday #mq 45
8. Courage 47
Courage : The virtue that vitalizes all others. 47
Conquer fear in 30 seconds: Check in on your expectations. 47
"I'm excited!" Channel your high arousal states. 48
"Bring it on!" Reversal of desire. Learn to LOVE fear. 49
Jump! It's not as wide as you think. 49
9. Love 50
Love 2.0* Micro-moments of Positivity Resonance. 50
Celebrating. Celebrate yourself and celebrate others. A lot. :) 51
Self-Compassion. Love yourself. 52
A vital person vitalizes . Demonstrate what's possible. 53
Gratitude . The secret sauce. 53
"The secret of leadership is love." - Jim Kouzes 54
Deep Love. Make time for it. 54
The essence of humanity . Is love, is connection. 56
Challenging people and challenging times . Give them love. 56
10. en*theos 56
en*theos. God within (or whatever your preferred name is for "that thing") 56
Eudaimonia . Good Soul. 56
Euthymia . Tranquility. Energized groundedness. 57
Your potential is an asymptote . The journey never ends. 57
Enjoy the journey. Happiness is �ourishing. (and a verb) 57
BONUS: Join the Movement! 58
THE HERO'S JOURNEY: RESOURCES 59
Bill Moyers & Joseph Campbel l Interview Series: Joseph Campbell and the Power Of Myth 59
VIA Character Strengths Assessment 59
Finding Joe - a �lm by Patrick Takaya Solomon 59
5
INTRODUCTION
ENCHIRIDION FOR HEROES Quest. +1. Tools.
Enchiridion = "Ready at Hand." Like a sword. (vs. a "Handbook")
"This is my way, what is your way? there is no the way." - Nietzsche #mq
● "Don't believe me. Don't believe anybody. Think about it. Test it. And believe yourself. It either
works, or it doesn't. The only person worthy of believing is you." - after Buddha #mq
○ "I'm always experimenting. I can say this worked for me, and the research shows it works
for the rest of the population. But you have to experiment with it yourself." - Brian Johnson
#mq
○ Always be experimenting.
● "I'm both idiosyncratic and eccentric." - Brian Johnson #mq
○ We all have our own style, and we have to own that.
○ "What I do is what I do. You have to �gure out what you do." - Brian Johnson #mq
● Make your own handbook with the wisdom and ideas that are powerful for you.
○ What are the top 10 tools that you want to have ready at hand?
● Trust those things that really resonate. Write them down.
○ "When you hear an idea that's lightning, that really resonates, I think it resonates because
you already knew it, and I just articulated it in a new way." - Brian Johnson #mq
○ Those ideas that you thought you knew pretty well, and then someone else says it, and it
just really falls into place.
Be the exemplar. "Be the change. [...] My life is my message." - Gandhi #mq
● Be the most inspired, inspiring, on �re, plugged in person you can be. What are you doing that
allows you to be you? People will want to know what that is.
● If you want to pull o� heroic quests, you better be digging deep, and you'd better be connected
to something bigger than yourself so you can have the energy to �gure it out.
● Become the most vital, energized, connected, centered person you've ever been. And allow that
to guide you in the details.
● Take what's latent and expressed once in awhile, and let that just lead who you are.
6
THREE THEMES
1. Quest: What is your heroic quest?
● What's the 1 thing you would do if you knew you couldn't fail? Over the next 1, 3, 5, 10 years... If
you knew you would succeed, what would you do?
○ Your quest can even be to discover what your quest is.
● Three rules for determining your Quest: epic, more than you, and doable.
○ Epic. Awesome, something that makes you goosebumps giddy. The thing you might not
even be willing to admit to yourself that you want, but you know you want.
○ About more than just you. +2 Heroes have strength for two
○ Doable. Have to actually believe you can do it. You can get freaked out by it, often, but
you need to believe you can do it.
2. +1 ( +1 +1 +1 +1... )
● Day by day by day. Masterpiece days.
○ Climb the mountain.
○ Hold dynamic tension, rubber band between ideal and current.
● Get clear on target, make a deep commitment to it, and then +1+1+1 as you journey to it.
● Don't get stuck in Mediocrity
○ (PN Die Empty: https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/die-empty-todd-henry/ )
○ Mediocrity: Medius + Ocratis: Being stuck in the middle of a rugged mountain
○ Don't want to get stuck between where we are (base) and the peak
○ Ton of synonyms for mediocre: average, typical, one of a million,
○ Only one antonym: Excellence (-->Areté!)
○ How to not get stuck? --> Use the tools
3. Tools
● 90-100 tools, frameworks, perspectives, etc. - all applied in service to quest and +1
● Use these tools in the moment that you have a doubt!
○ The moment you have that doubt, you need to see it. Which requires a healthy, strong
mind.
○ The next step is, "OK; this is happening... how quickly can I push the energy in the right
direction."
○ What you allow to �re will continue to wire, and that myelin sheath will make it easier to
think that thought in the future.
○ (PN A Mind for Numbers:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/a-mind-for-numbers-barbara-oakley/ )
● "Carpe Punctum, seize the moment." - Dan Millman #mq
7
● (PN Everyday Enlightenment:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/everyday-enlightenment-dan-millman/ )
8
10 PRINCIPLES FOR HEROIC LIVING Broadly in three buckets of Mind, Body, Spirit
OVERVIEW:
MIND
1. Antifragile Con�dence (+Hope) : The essence of the hero.
● What's in your control? 90/90 + Stoicism
● Antifragility. "Bring it on!"
● True Con�dence = Intense Trust. No matter what happens, "I got this."
● Emotional Stamina + Identity -> Behaviors -> Feelings Commit to Being Committed
● Catching Turnarounds: The U + Equanimity Game
● Stockdale Paradox & Functional Optimism. Faith + Facts
● Barbell strategy . Super aggressive + Super conservative
● Hope (Antifragile style) : Believe future will be better. Have agency to create it. Do
whatever it takes.
● Mindset: Growth (vs. Fixed) Learn and do another take.
● Victim vs. Hero. CREATE what YOU want.
● Win or Learn. Well, Learn, Optimize --> Be Antifragile
● Self-E�cacy: 4 Aspects to Con�dence (According to Science)
● Grit: Intense passion and intense persistence. (Willpower)^2
2. Purpose
● Hedgehog Model. Love. Great. Need. - Jim Collins
● Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic
● Be willing to not know. "Genius is the ability to tolerate ambiguity." - Unknown #mq
● Experiment & Iterate. Be willing to die. ● Choose the path with heart. You know which one it is.
● Social comparison is toxic. Just don't do it.
● Make-Tradeo�s. To prioritize what's important.
● Purpose <--> Self-Awareness
3. Self-Awareness
● What do you REALLY want?
● "Know thyself" - Temple of Apollo at Delphi
● Best Selves Diary. You in 5 years #journal #exercise
● Masterpiece Days. Iterate Macro + Micro
● +1/-1. Putting it into practice! #journal #exercise
● The Big 3: Energy, Family, Service
9
BODY
4. Goals & Systems
● High Ceiling + Low Floor . Both.
● Systems. Process.
● Dominoes. Line them up.
● Win early. Use your best energy wisely.
● Covey's 4 Quadrants Move from IV to II
● Timelines . Smarter ones.
5. Action
● Deep Work. High intensity of focus.
● WOOP. Wish. Outcome/Bene�t. Obstacle. Plan
● Body of work. Pros are proli�c.
● Accrete Value. Take advantage of the compound e�ect.
● Single handle. Start --> �nish
● "Sit or stand, don't wobble." - Buddha #mq
6. Energy
● Eat. Real food. High fat + greens.
● Move. OTM + 25 min
● Sleep . ~8 hours + naps
● Breathing and Attention Training. Hit the mental gym.
● "How are your fundamentals?" - Brian Johnson #mq
● Use willpower wisely. Play o�ense and commit 100%
● "Borrow" energy strategically, not habitually. (ex: ca�eine)
● Hedonic pleasure vs. Eudaimonic pleasure . Rede�ning "fun"
● Optimized Motivation. Make the connection between what you do and how you feel.
SPIRIT
7. Wisdom
● Be a Warrior of the Mind. Go from knowledge, theory, and ideas, to practice.
● Flexibility. Like a river between structure and spontaneity.
● Ego. Healthy and powerful.
● The Engaged Master . Live intensely.
● Yes + And. Both. Transcend and include.
● Learn from Masters. Deeply.
● States and Stages. Do the work.
● Guard your attention. "I don't know, and I don't care." - Ryan Holiday #mq
8. Courage
● Courage : The virtue that vitalizes all others
10
● Conquer fear in 30 seconds : Check in on your expectations.
● "I'm excited!" Channel your high arousal states.
● "Bring it on!" Reversal of desire. Learn to LOVE fear.
● Jump ! It's not as wide as you think.
9. Love
● Love 2.0* Micro-moments of Positivity Resonance.
● Celebrating . Celebrate yourself and celebrate others. A lot. :)
● Self-Compassion . Love yourself.
● A vital person vitalizes. Demonstrate what's possible.
● Gratitude . The secret sauce.
● "The secret of leadership is love." - Jim Kouzes
● Deep Love. Make time for it.
● The essence of humanity. Is love, is connection.
● Challenging people and challenging times. Give them love.
10. en*theos
● en*theos . God within (or whatever your preferred name is for "that thing")
● Eudaimonia . Good Soul.
● Euthymia. Tranquility. Energized groundedness.
● Your potential is an asymptote. The journey never ends.
● Enjoy the journey. Happiness is �ourishing. (and a verb)
BONUS: Join the Movement! We need you.
11
MIND
1. Antifragile Con�dence (+Hope): The essence of the
hero.
What's in your control? 90/90 + Stoicism
● 90% of 90%
○ Peak performance is at least 90% mental. Of that 90% mental, 90% of it is
recognizing what you have control over.
● "Only three types of business you can be in. Your business, other peoples business, and
Gods business." - Byron Katie #mq
○ (PN Loving What Is:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/loving-what-is-byron-katie/ )
○ The only one you have control over is your business.
○ You don't have control over other people, or of natural disaster, cutulral things, etc
○ If we think we're in control over things outside of ourselves, we're in trouble.
● The Serenity prayer: Grant me the to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to
change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the di�erence.
● Agency is knowing that you only have control over yourself, and then doing it.
○ No control over: Other people, God. Bureaucracy, etc.
○ Control over: Your mind.
○ If you spend time thinking about things you can't control, you give away your
agency.
○ "That shot I just took: not in my control." - after Lanny Bassham ("Needs work.")
#mq
○ (PN With Winning in Mind:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/with-winning-in-mind-lanny-bassham/
)
● Stoicism
○ (PN The Daily Stoic:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-daily-stoic-ryan-holiday-stephen-
hanselman/ )
○ All about making distinction between what's in our control, and what's not.
12
○ The moment you have an impression in your mind, ask, "is this something I have
control over or not?"
■ No --> inconsequential
● Can't care about your reputation, care about your character
■ Yes --> Then choose what to think and how you respond. "Am I going to
allow that thought to go into my mind and take root?"
○ Stoicism applied to therapy: CBT + ACT
■ Cognitive Behavioral Therapy takes the tools we're exploring and apply it in
a way that works.
■ (PN The Philosophy of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-philosophy-of-cognitive-b
ehavioural-therapy-donald-robertson/ )
■ Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Dr. Russ Harris
■ (PN The Happiness Trap:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-happiness-trap-russ-harris
/ )
■ "Typical therapy is a joke. It's not e�ective" - after Phil Stutz #mq
Antifragility. "Bring it on!"
● (PN Spartan Up!: https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/spartan-up-joe-de-sena/ )
● De�ned: The harder you get hit, the stronger you get.
○ Fragile - "Do not handle me roughly. Super fragile, I will break easily"
○ Robust/Resilient - "I survive through challenges. I can handle what you give me, for
a while. Then I'll break"
○ Antifragile - "The rougher I get treated, the stronger I get. Kick me. Toss me.
Disrupt me. Because that's how I get stronger."
● "Bring it on!" - Phil Stutz #mq
○ (PN The Tools:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-tools-barry-michels-phil-stutz/ )
○ I want to get a little better today, so I’m going to lean into what scares me.
○ SCREAM that.
● "The demon that you face, you get it's power." - Joseph Campbell #mq
True Con�dence = Intense Trust. No matter what happens, "I got this."
● Con-�dere. With intense trust.
○ (PN Mind Gym:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/mind-gym-gary-mack/ )
○ No matter what happens, I've got what it takes to deal with this.
13
○ Knowing it's going to be challenging and there are going to be setbacks.
○ "I got this."
○ Better yet: they will make you stronger. Antifragile!
Emotional Stamina + Identity -> Behaviors -> Feelings. Commit to Being
Committed
● Emotional Stamina: "When you get knocked around, you know how to pick yourself up
quickly."
○ "Maybe the most important idea of whole weekend." - Brian Johnson #mq (<-- He
said that many times :)
○ "The worse you feel, the more avid you are to the protocol." - Phil Stutz, about
Brian #mq
○ That assumes you have a protocol.
● Be committed to being committed.
○ Be most committed in the moments when you least feel like it.
■ On her streak to 3k++ days of exercising. "What did you do when you didn't
feel like exercising?"--> "I did it!"
■ "When you've actually committed, discipline doesn't care what you feel like.
What does feeling have to do with it?" - after Michael Beckwith #mq
■ (PN Life Visioning:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/life-visioning-michael-bernard-
beckwith/ )
■ "There is no higher level of con�dence then being the type of person who
can get themselves to do what needs to get done, whether or not they feel
like it." - after David Reynolds #mq
■ "Now what needs to be done?" - David Reynolds #mq
■ (PN Constructive Living:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/constructive-living-david-reyn
olds/ )
○ Be on FIRE
■ Wind extinguishes a candle, but fuels a �ame.
■ Throw things in the way of a �re, and it literally consumes it for fuel.
■ "Do not seek illumination unless you seek it as a man whose hair is on �re
seeks a pond." - Sri Ramakrishna #mq
■ (PN A Joseph Campbell Companion:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/a-joseph-campbell-companion
-joseph-campbell/ )
■ Activation energy.
● Go from simmer to boiling. 212.
14
● Fire doesn't start until 451.
● Cornerstone of LIFE, not just hero training.
● Identity -> Behaviors -> Feelings
○ (PN Resilience:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/resilience-eric-greitens/ )
○ "Create the identity you aspire to be and are committed to being." - after Eric
Greitens #mq
■ What's the vision of you at your highest level of performance? Who are you
at your most expressed self?
■ Be that person. What does that person DO in this moment?
○ Always make your identity drive the behavior.
■ What does an [IDENTITY] do? Do that.
● ex: what does an athlete do? an athlete trains
■ Importantly, doing it when you least feel like it.
○ "Feelings follow behaviors." - David Reynolds #mq
■ (PN Constructive Living:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/constructive-living-david-reyn
olds/ )
■ Most people go the opposite way. Feelings > Behaviors > Identity
■ But "How do I feel?" or "Do I feel like doing it?" aren't great default
questions.
Catching Turnarounds. The U + Equanimity Game
● True con�dence is knowing you're going to go through periods of struggle, "catching"
them, and turning them around.
○ Notice that you're o�, then use a tool to turn it around.
○ Feeling disconnected? Turn it around.
○ If you stay at the bottom of the U, you're "e�ed."
● Play the Equanimity game.
○ (Micro - How to Play the Equanimity Game:
https://www.optimize.me/micro-class/how-to-play-the-equanimity-game/ )
○ "When I get knocked o�, how fast can I get back up?" - Brian Johnson #mq
○ "When force of circumstance knocks you o� your centerpoint, see how fast you
can return to that balance point." - Marcus Aurelius - #mq
○ (PN Meditations:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/meditations-marcus-aurelius/ )
● The days that used to be your worst days become the best days, because you catch
them, reverse them, and know that you caught it.
○ Don't waste bad days. That's data.
15
● Play poorly well.
○ (PN The Champion's Mind:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-champions-mind-jim-afremow/ )
Stockdale Paradox & Functional Optimism. Faith + Facts
● Optimistic + Grounded reality ("functional optimism")
○ You need an unbreakable faith that you can achieve it, and an equal embrace of
facts. Not ignoring the facts of reality.
○ Hold an undying belief that you will make it through, PLUS knowing it won't
happen tomorrow.
○ When talking to Jim Collins, Stockdale described di�erent prisoners and the
outcomes they experienced. Naive optimists died. The problem was they were in
the camp, and had optimism, but thought they could get out by Thanksgiving,
Christmas, etc
● Play your role
○ As he was falling out of airplane: "I'm entering the world of Epictetus." - James
Stockdale #mq
○ (PN Courage Under Fire:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/courage-under-�re-james-stockdale/ )
○ He knew he was going to be challenged to practice: what's within my control, and
what's outside.
○ He knew he would su�er, and that his only opportunity was choosing how he
would respond.
○ Same with Victor Frankl. His last freedom was choosing how he would respond.
Barbell strategy. Super aggressive + Super conservative.
● Barbell Strategy
● (Micro Anti-Fragile Tip: The Barbell Strategy:
https://www.optimize.me/micro-class/anti-fragile-tip-the-barbell-strategy/ )
● Both!
○ Super aggressive epically awesome bigger than you goal.
○ Super conservative goals (Dominoes + Sledgehammer) + making sure you're
taking care of yourself
● Where do you fall? Too aggressive? Too conservative? We need both.
● Applied to Maslow's hierarchy.
○ We might have that self-actualization (or self-transcendance) goal
○ But, we need to make sure the foundation is so strong.
16
Hope (Antifragile style). Believe future will be better. Have agency to create it. Do
whatever it takes.
● 1. Goal . Do you believe that the future will be better than the present?
○ Do you have a goal you're working towards?
○ What's �ring you up?
○ PLUS My present is awesome. (Gratitude, etc.
○ Hope-less. You don't think future will be better.
■ Feeling funky? Depressed? Check in on this.
● 2. Agency . Do you believe you can achieve that goal?
● 3. Pathways . Are you willing to do whatever it takes? A - Z
○ The truly hopeful person knows they have power and are willing to do whatever it
takes for however long it takes.
○ A-Z pathways
○ Optionality. (from Antifragile)
■ 1 option is fragile
■ 2-3 is robust
■ in�nite is antifragile
● Leadership all about hope.
○ (PN The Leadership Challenge:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-leadership-challenge-james-kouz
es-barry-posner/ )
○ Belief that the future will be better than present
○ This is why what we're doing together is going to make our futures better than our
present.
● Hope & Rats study
○ (PN Black Hole Focus:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/black-hole-focus-isaiah-hankel/ )
○ Rats can swim for 15 min, before they drown
○ Pull them out, dry o�, give them short break, then put them back in
○ They can then swim for 60 hours
○ 240x longer
○ They have hope. They were rescued, and can see a better future
Mindset: Growth (vs. Fixed) Learn and do another take.
● Michael Jordan+
○ (PN Live Life Aggressively!:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/live-life-aggressively-mike-mahler/ )
○ Willingness to miss shots that led to success
17
○ Great performers have really bad memories. They don't remember there last poor
performance.
○ Brady threw interception. The next time down, he ran the exact same play as a
touchdown.
● "Mistakes = Mis-Takes." - Michael Beckwith #mq
○ (PN Spiritual Liberation:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/spiritual-liberation-michael-bernard-b
eckwith/ )
○ Do you think a world class director starts the �lm, "action" and gets to the end,
"cut?" No.
○ They create a vision for the scene, chunk it down, and do as many takes as they
need to do.
○ When you try something and it doesn't work, it's just a mis-take.
● "Needs work."
○ (PN Attainment:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/attainment-troy-bassham/ )
○ Gold medal winning ri�e shooter, Lanny Bassham (With Winning in Mind.) Misses a
shot, says "needs work."
○ (PN With Winning in Mind:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/with-winning-in-mind-lanny-bassham/
)
○ Replay the interaction, imagining the scene as you wanted it to be.
○ What would I have done if I was acting optimally?
○ That needs work, and it's not acceptable, but I won't beat myself up about it.
● "Superheros"
○ The problem with most superheros is they're as �xed mindset as you can be.
○ Superman was just born with these incredible abilities.
○ Move beyond that. Be a superhero version 2.0
● Our culture in unquestionably �xed mindset
○ Was it Mozarts genius, or that he worked until his hands were deformed? And he
was the son of that generations greatest music teacher?
○ Research with "smart" vs. "worked hard"
■ Math test, moderately hard
■ Half of kids were told "did great, you must be smart" vs the other half "did
great, you must have worked really hard."
■ They then took another test, signi�cantly harder. Then a last test, which was
easy.
■ Group told they were smart, performance went down. Group told they
worked hard, performance went up.
■ 30% diminution of performance, in one use of �xed vs growth
● "I love challenges."
18
○ Brian and Emerson. Fixing mechanical things.
○ Story of being able to climb up the slide. He's gifted vs. he has his shoes o� and
he's practiced!
○ Love challenges. And then PRACTICE.
Victim vs. Hero. CREATE what YOU want.
● "Truly it takes something heroic to trust oneself and be your own master." - Emerson
#mq
○ "The wise person does nothing reluctantly." - after Stoics #mq
○ (PN A Guide to the Good Life:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/a-guide-to-the-good-life-william-irvin
e/ )
○ "When you decide to do something, do it with all your heart." - Buddha #mq
○ (PN The Dhammapada:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-dhammapada-eknath-easwaran/ )
○ Unplug for long enough to get clarity
○ It's not 100% in control, we all have constraints. But play your role well. Something
bigger than you.
● The real question for the hero is "what do I want"
○ Shift from victim to creator.
○ (PN The Power of TED:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-power-of-ted-david-emerald/ )
○ What do I want? In any moment, the question exists.
■ Having a challenging time with your kid (or anyone? or anything?) Ask "what
do I want?"
■ Pull out of victim into creator/hero.
○ You know the price, are you willing to pay it?
■ Or not. That's an answer too.
● Rise up and create.
○ "Criticize by creating." - Michalangelo #mq
○ A hero doesn't say "why is this happening, why is this happening to me?"
■ Heroes all have their darkness, but when the situation demands, they rise
up.
○ Heroes WANT the bigger challenges: "This [the Revolution] is what heroes live for."
- Abigail Adams
■ (PN On Becoming a Leader:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/on-becoming-a-leader-warren
-bennis/ )
■ Turn your hardest challenges into your greatest strengths.
19
○ "What needs to get done? And what am I going to do to create the world I want to
create?" - Brian Johnson
○ "It's not the world I want my family to grow up in, therefore, what am I going to do?
And put all energy into that." - Brian Johnson #mq
● Never "them" doing something, or "they" need to change.
○ "Imagine going to a doctor, describing your symptoms or whatever issue you're
having, and the doctor says 'yeah that’s cool, I'll prescribe medication for your
neighbor and you'll be �ne.'" - after Anthony De Mello (?)
Win or Learn. Well, Learn, Optimize --> Be Antifragile
● Perfect set of questions to ask after any performance.
○ (PN The Champion's Mind:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-champions-mind-jim-afremow/ )
○ Whether for you, or for helping kids.
○ DON’T start with "how did it go"
■ We're built to remember negative
■ Saber tooth tiger
● 3 Questions: What went well? What did you learn? What are you going to do di�erently?
○ Well . What went well? (1. Good )
○ Learn . What did you learn? (2. Better )
○ Optimize . What are you going to do di�erently? (3. Best )
● If you had a win, celebrate it. Feast on it. "That's like me!"
○ If you had a "loss" turn it into a win with the post-game.
○ "Loss is our religion." - Phil Stutz #mq
○ (PN The Tools:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-tools-barry-michels-phil-stutz/ )
○ You're now antifragile. You lost, and you got stronger.
○ Turn losses into learnings -> improvement
Self-E�cacy: 4 Aspects to Con�dence (According to Science)
● Self-e�cacy: the belief that you can make something happen. The greatest predictor of
making it happen.
○ (PN An Iron Will:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/an-iron-will-orison-swett-marden/ )
○ "Whether you think you can, or you think you can't - you're right." - Henry Ford
● 1. Mastery Experience s. Your previous successes.
○ What are your past successes? What have you done when you've crushed it?
#journal #exercise
20
■ Make an inventory. What are 3 things you're super proud of?
■ Have a resume of awesome you can look back on.
○ Remind yourself of these.
■ Celebrate yourself.
■ "That's like me."
● 2. Vicarious Learning . "If someone else has done it, I can do it."
○ "If it's within someone's power to achieve something, know that it's within your
power to achieve that thing." - after Marcus Aurelius #mq
○ (PN Meditations:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/meditations-marcus-aurelius/ )
○ Use others successes as signals that you can have that success, NOT as a signal
that you're "wrong" through comparison.
■ Di�erence between jealousy and envy.
■ At the very least, celebrate others.
○ Who are your heroes? Think of 2 or 3 of your heroes, and bring them into your life.
Become them. #journal #exercise
■ Marcus Aurelius
■ Epictetus
■ Brian Johnson
● 3. Social Persuasion . "You can do this!"
○ Surround yourself with people who support you and level you up.
■ "You are the average of the �ve people you spend the most time with." - Jim
Rohn #mq
■ (PN Tony Robbins:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/tony-robbins-tony-robbins/ )
■ The opposite works too, if people are saying you can't do it, you might
believe them. Choose your company carefully!
○ You need to persuade yourself as well.
■ Like the dialogue of a supportive coach.
○ Be the one who's telling other people they can do it.
■ Happy con�dent people who are achieving are not the people who are
bringing people down.
■ See what other people are capable of.
○ Be their coach, their supporter. Persuade them they can do what they think is
impossible.
● 4. Physiology . Hold yourself like the con�dently, breathe, act like a con�dent person.
○ Amy Cuddy, Presence. Proved that feelings follow behavior.
■ (PN: Presence:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/presence-amy-cuddy/ )
■ Power pose vs. "doing depression."
■ Posture --> Feelings
21
○ Get into your body! Con�dently
■ Tony Robbins, having people go from wilted �ower, to being open,
breathing, holding themselves powerfully.
■ (PN Tony Robbins:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/tony-robbins-tony-robbins/ )
■ Go for a brisk walk.
○ Act as If
■ Advice to swimmers before a race: "Act as if you won the event, from the
moment you wake up that day." - Bob Bowman
■ (PN No Limits:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/no-limits-michael-phelps-alan-
abrahamson/ )
■ Why wait until the moment of the event? Who would you be, if you
achieved the goal you are seeking, how would you walk, talk, carry
yourself? Now is a good time to be that.
Grit: Intense passion and intense persistence. (Willpower)^2
● Willpower = HUGE
○ (PN The Willpwer Instinct:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-willpower-instinct-kelly-mcgoniga
l/ )
○ Willpower out-predicts IQ by a factor of 2 for academic performance
■ Not how smart they are, but how gritty
■ Works for everything
■ Willpower over the long run: Grit
○ Intense passion and intense persistence.
■ Not �reworks passion, but compass passion
■ This is what I'm going to guide my life against.
■ Angela's: Grit for kids
● 4 keys to GRIT
○ (PN Grit: https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/grit-angela-duckworth/ )
○ 1. Interest . Get clear on what you're interested in.
■ Self-concordant goals. In integrity your values and passions.
■ Don't do what you "should" do. Do the things you're actually excited about.
■ INTENSE 451 degree interest. Activation energy.
■ (PN Finding Your Zone
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/�nding-your-zone-michael-lar
don/ )
○ 2. Practice . Every day.
22
■ Deliberate practice to move from where you are to where you want to be.
■ What are you going to do every day that will make your goal a natural
byproduct?
○ 3. Purpose . Something that extends beyond yourself.
■ It can't just be about you.
■ For whom are you committed to doing this work?
○ 4. Hope . Get it back when you lose it.
■ Believe - future can be better than present.
■ Agency - that you can make it happen.
■ Pathways - be willing to try A, B, C to Z, AA, AB... ZZ :)
● "E�ort counts twice." - Angela Duckworth #mq
○ Talent x E�ort --> Skill. Skill x E�ort --> Achievement
■ Talent: the speed with which you can pick up a skill
■ E�ort or "grunt" counts twice.
○ "Follow your bliss." + "Follow your grunt." - Joseph Campbell #mq
■ (PN Pathways to Bliss:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/pathways-to-bliss-joseph-cam
pbell/ )
■ Campbell wished he had emphasized the second part more.
● Desirable di�culties.
○ Example, a coach who had a team full of girls with a ton of energy but little
basketball skills. Solution? Run the full court press all day every day. They won the
championship.
○ (PN David and Goliath:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/david-and-goliath-malcolm-gladwell/ )
2. Purpose
Hedgehog Model. Love. Great. Need. - Jim Collins
● (PN Born For This:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/born-for-this-chris-guillebeau/ )
● The intersection of 3 things:
○ What do I love to do? So much I would pay to do it?
■ "Do you think I can be a writer? Are you willing to put ten years in, without
any recognition, to give it a shot? That won't guarantee you, but it will give
you a shot." - after Joseph Campbell #mq
○ What can you be truly great at?
23
■ What can you truly be the best in the world at?
■ You can't be world class at three things.
■ "Did you set out to be the best in the world at what you did? No, we set out
to be the only ones in the world who did what we do." - after The Grateful
Dead #mq
■ Focus on creating instead of competing.
○ What does the world need? What will they pay for?
■ Astonishing Service
● "Create wealth via profound service. Most people are thinking about
how they can satisfy someone. What a ridiculous standard is that?" -
after Steve Chandler #mq
● (PN Wealth Warrior:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/wealth-warrior-steve-ch
andler/ )
● Astonish: Strike with lightning
● Create value by serving astonishingly
■ Make money. Make your business pay for itself as fast as you can. Figure
out how you are going to serve.
● Want to be the next Batman? Figure out how to add enough value to
get people to pay for it. Starting with one person.
● Find the highest leverage point that will allow you to create value for
someone, which will allow you to pay your bills. Get pro�table.
■ Purpose + Multiple Stakeholders
● Data proves that businesses run with purpose and multiple
stakeholder orientations outperform businesses that don't.
● "You don't inspire companies with the woo-woo, you show them you
make more money when you do this."
● Catherine Collins. Ran fund for Fidelity, then went to Harvard Divinity
School. Book "The Nature of Investing" Honey Bee Capital.
● Ecosystems of nature applied to �nancial systems.
● Struggling? Ask, "If I could only do one thing, for the next year, what would it be?"
#journal #exercise
Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic
● BOTH intrinsic and extrinsic.
● Science is unequivocal. Intrinsic goals lead to �ourishing.
○ If you disproportionally go after extrinsic, you will be less psychologically stable.
○ Dharmically driven
● We also want to be creating results.
24
○ Take that extrinsic goal, and bake in the intrinsic goals that will allow you to get
there.
Be willing to not know. "Genius is the ability to tolerate ambiguity." - Unknown
#mq
● "God turns you from one feeling to another so you have two wings to �y and not one." -
Rumi #mq
○ (PN Rumi Daylight:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/rumi-daylight-rumi/ )
○ It's not easy to get clarity.
● It can often feel less like a ping-pong ball and more like a lottery ball bouncing through a
bunch of options.
○ Not necessarily back and forth.
○ Be willing to explore an in�nite number of options.
○ Explore enough, and you will �nd something.
Experiment & Iterate. Be willing to die.
● Experiment and iterate.
○ You have to have the willingness to crucify the old and die to begin anew. That
occurs every day.
○ It can occur every moment. Don't wait for macro opportunities to evolve, but do it
micro and iteratively.
○ Always experimenting, and trying to do so with a growth mindset.
● Die to Rise. (Like a Phoenix.)
○ "One cannot have a resurrection unless one has a cruci�xion." - Joseph Campbell
#mq
■ It's really, really hard to nail yourself to your own cross. To say, that's not it
anymore. To be willing to let your old self die.
■ That is the hardest part of the process.
■ Ex: the idea of creating another 600 notes lost its magic
○ “The snake that cannot shed it’s skin must perish.” - Nietzsche #mq
○ "You do something, and it's just amazing. It �lls your soul. Then you ful�ll that
purpose, and you try to keep doing it, and it's like collecting gas station receipts
and wallpapering your house. Just before it was really soul nourishing, but now it's
not." - after Davide Deida #mq
○ (PN David Deida:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-way-of-the-superior-man-david-d
eida/ )
25
● Drill down. "Purpose is concentric circles." - David Deida #mq
● (PN David Deida:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-way-of-the-superior-man-david-deida/ )
○ You get more clarity, a little bit smaller circle of "purpose" each time
○ You're not going to get clarity once and for all.
○ Each contraction or focusing is really hard.
Choose the path with heart. You know which one it is.
● "Anything is one of a million paths. You need to follow the path that has heart." - Carlos
Castaneda #mq
○ (PN The Wheel of Time:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-wheel-of-time-carlos-castaneda/ )
○ Your path needs to have heart.
○ "How do you know if your path has heart? You know. You just don't have the
courage to ask yourself." - Carlos Casteneda
● "You can't do what daddy wants you to do." - Sir Ken Robinson #mq
○ (PN The Element:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-element-ken-robinson/ )
○ Dad wants you to be secure; he doesn't want your best.
○ You can't consult the odds.
○ Willingness to stretch.
● Your Path
○ Know your purpose. Know your path. Walk it. Energized tranquility.
○ The only sure sign that you're not on your path is that there is a path.
■ Arthurian legend, all had to go in at their own points.
○ Humility of knowing it won't be easy
■ Heroic quest is not supposed to be easy.
■ We can't navigate the path without tripping.
■ Roll up your sleeves and be willing to su�er.
■ Bear scars like medals. Antifragile.
○ Don't do anything questionable before you do something unquestionable.
■ If you're feeling doubt, don't go all in.
● The call to action is the hardest part.
○ Know it's not going to be easy.
○ Worst case scenario, checking a box, "not that, not that"
26
Social comparison is toxic. Just don't do it.
● "I'm more interested in being a hero than watching other people live heroic lives." - Brian
Johnson #mq
○ I don't need to be the rat walking into that maze
○ You start watching and then need to binge. It's been scienti�cally engineered to
make that.
○ Binge drinking isn't cool, why is binge watching?
● We didn't evolve to know what every single other person is doing.
○ No matter how strong you are, your brain did not evolve for that much social
comparison.
○ We evolved to have a network of a small number of people.
● If we're constantly comparing, we just won't be happy. Period.
○ Euthymia is all about saying this is my path, and I'm going to walk it.
● Figure out the triggers, and eliminate them.
○ "Drain the shallows." - Cal Newport #mq
○ Be willing to be bored.
○ If you're constantly looking outside of yourself for stimulation, it's hard to settle
your mind
○ "Be willing to actually look at life, without looking at a screen." - Brian Johnson
#mq
Make-Tradeo�s. To prioritize what's important.
● "The warrior realizes that in any given moment, they can cut everything out of their life." -
after Carlos Castaneda #mq
○ (PN The Wheel of Time:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-wheel-of-time-carlos-castaneda/ )
○ You might not choose to do that, but the choice is there.
○ Willingly choose to do something, or not.
○ But once you make the choice, do it.
● You can have it all in one sense, but you can't have it all in another sense.
○ You have to be willing to make tradeo�s
○ It's easier to hedge your bets. It's harder to go all in. But that's where the magic
happens.
○ Constraints can actually be really good, in some cases. Because they limit your
decisions
● Self-actualizing individuals don't have a lot of relationships
○ True relationships take time
○ It takes an investment of energy.
27
● McKown essentialism.
Project-ise. Happy people have projects.
● (PN The How of Happiness:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-how-of-happiness-sonja-lyubomirsky/ )
● Happy people have projects. Heroes have quests
● Frame big goals in the context of projects. Concrete, measurable goals.
For more on Purpose, or getting additional clarity:
● Purpose 101
● (Master Class: https://www.optimize.me/master-class/purpose-101/ )
● Con�dence 101
● (Master Class: https://www.optimize.me/master-class/con�dence-101/ )
Purpose <--> Self-Awareness
3. Self-Awareness
What do you REALLY want?
● Authentic has the same root as author. When you're living authentically, you are the
author of your life.
● Your work on yourself, your love of wisdom as a philosopher, knowledge of how to live,
that's important. "Give philosophy your best time." - Stoics #mq
"Know thyself" - Temple of Apollo at Delphi
● Macro: what your here to do? #journal #exercise
○ If you were absolutely guaranteed to succeed, you could not fail, what one thing
would you dare to dream?
○ Write down everything that comes to mind. Get it all out. Then look at the list, and
ask, what do I really, really want? What one thing would be most catalytic.
○ What would be epically awesome?
28
● Micro: what works for you or doesn't work for you? #journal #exercise
○ When I'm in this state, I tend to do that, which works out...
Best Selves Diary. You in 5 years #journal #exercise
● Fast forward 1,3,5,10 years into the future. You've worked hard, gotten lucky, and life has
come together. Wave a wand of awesome, and it's come true...
○ What does that version of you look like?
○ Feel into it. Re�ect
● "The most robust way to build optimism is to re�ect on that on a daily basis." - after Sonja
Lyuburuski #mq
○ (PN The How of Happiness:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-how-of-happiness-sonja-lyubomir
sky/ )
○ Journal about that, every single day.
○ Even just 2 minutes to "prime the pump." Get down the essence of it.
Masterpiece Days. Iterate Macro + Micro #journal #exercise
● What does your masterpiece day look like?
○ If you could do anything, the ideal perfect day...
○ What would it have in it?
○ What would it NOT have in it?
● Let your past days (data) guide you.
○ What do you do on your best day? Do that more. (+1)
○ What do you do on the days and weeks that you spiral out? (-1)
● "Figure out what works, and what doesn't. Do more of what works, less of what doesn't." -
Brian Johnson #mq
○ "I don't need to understand all of the mechanics of electricity to know that I just
turned on a light." - Brian Johnson #mq
● Macro level
○ What's a normal day look like from the big picture?
○ Maybe also think about what a travel day looks like, etc.
● Micro level
○ What’s tomorrow going to look like?
● 80/20 approach to everything.
○ Don't have to get it 100% detailed.
○ Just know the few key things:
■ Electronics o� by certain point
■ Bed by certain point, etc.
29
○ “I don't need to understand all of the mechanics of electricity to know that I just
turned on a light." - Brian Johnson #mq
+1/-1. Putting it into practice! #journal #exercise
● What's the plus thing you will install? And the minus thing you will delete?
○ List the things that, when you do them, make it a great day.
○ List the things that, when you do them, end up in a day that isn't that great.
○ Circle the most powerful items/actions, in both lists.
○ Then, drill down again, what's the #1 thing in both lists?
● What's the #1 thing to add that is the most fundamental?
○ The #1 you can start that you're not currently doing.
○ The key-stone. The stone that locks the arch in place.
■ Keystone habit.
■ It cascades.
○ Not ten, or one hundred, but just one.
○ Building your willpower in any habit a�ects everything else.
● What's the #1 thing to remove?
○ "If you walked into a forest and needed to �nd something you could eat, you
would not �nd a fountain of youth. But you could it something that would
immediately kill you. The �rst rule in nutrition is, don't eat the poison." - after
Alberto Villoldo #mq
○ (PN One Spirit Medicine:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/one-spirit-medicine-alberto-villoldo/ )
○ Remove the poison. Remove the kryptonite.
○ The same powerful cascading e�ect happens even more powerfully in the
negative.
The Big 3: Energy, Family, Service #journal #exercise
● In each: What? Why? #1 thing. Then schedule it!
○ Iteration of Jason Selk's process in Executive Toughness
○ (PN Executive Toughness:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/executive-toughness-jason-selk/ )
● Energy : It starts here. You can't do anything without it.
○ What do you, in your most energetic and expressed self, look like energetically?
■ Think about you in optimized, energetic self.
○ What's the why? What are the bene�ts?
○ What's the #1 thing I can do, that I will do, on a daily basis, that will make the
outcome and those bene�ts an inevitable byproduct?
30
■ Ex: To be a world-class athlete, train every day.
● Family : Whatever role you're in.
○ Ex: To be an exemplary father and husband
■ More fun version: "Want to win the dad of the year award."
■ "Dad of the year points!"
● Service : Give gifts in greatest service.
○ Know that this is bigger than you.
● What are the three most important things you're going to do? Get them done as early as
you can.
○ Keeping it simple. Just three things.
■ Like/Vs. "Roles and goals. Have all these di�erent roles, set a goal." - after
Steven Covey #mq
■ (PN The 7 Habits of Highly E�ective People:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-7-habits-of-highly-e�ectiv
e-people-stephen-covey/ )
■ Like/Vs. "Categories of improvement." - Tony Robbins #mq
■ (PN Tony Robbins:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/tony-robbins-tony-robbins/ )
○ Honor that commitment
○ If you were told, imagine you had a chance to meet your hero, how would you
clear your calendar for that person?
○ Have that attitude towards your AM meeting with yourself.
Body
4. Goals & Systems
High Ceiling + Low Floor. Both.
● Most people have ceiling goals. If the �oor is the ceiling, that's kind of tight.
○ Have a �oor goal too. At the bare minimum, make sure the �oor happens
○ Antifragile. Super aggressive AND super conservative.
○ Also from How to be an Imperfectionist. Stephen Guise (also wrote Mini Habits)
○ (PN How to Be an Imperfectionist:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/how-to-be-an-imperfectionist-stephe
n-guise/ )
31
● Make it really, really, really easy to win in life
○ (PN Mini Habits:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/mini-habits-stephen-guise/ )
○ Micro habits. Habits so small you can't fail.
○ For example, you get one big idea from Hero Training, BOOM that's awesome. You
win.
Systems. Process.
● "Shoot straight."
○ Apollo was an archer. Archers need targets to aim at, but the primary goal is to
shoot straight. NOT to hit the target
○ A lot can happen between when the archer releases the arrow (which they
control), and the arrow �ies to the target (which they can't control).
○ We are not obsessed with hitting the target. We need a target. But the primary
focus is on shooting straight.
● "Goals are for losers. You need systems." - Scott Adams #mq
● (PN How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/how-to-fail-at-almost-everything-and-still-wi
n-big-scott-adams/ )
○ If you have a goal, by de�nition you're never there. If you have a system, you're
always doing it, and you're celebrating. You're winning every morning!
○ Create and celebrate small wins throughout the day.
○ Create triggers, so the systems just run.
● To increase the likelihood of doing something, decrease the variability of the behavior.
○ To meditate every day, do it at the same time!
Dominoes. Line them up.
● Line up your dominoes. For personal goals and business goals.
○ The �rst domino is TINY. The next step in the direction of your epic goals.
○ Each domino can generate 50% more force.
● If all you know is the �rst domino, and the last domino, that's all you need.
○ We think absolute certainty will be great, but it's not. It's terror.
○ Be willing to tolerate the ambiguity in the middle, and not know exactly what will
happen.
○ The middle dominoes are invisible, and they should be. A lot can and will change.
● If you want to go from LA from NYC, you don't need to know the turn you're going to
make in 473 miles. You need to know the �rst step. Drive 2 miles and turn right.
32
Win early. Use your best energy wisely.
● Whatever's most important and primary needs to be scheduled �rst in our day.
○ "You have the most control over mornings and evenings." - after Darren Hardy
#mq
○ (PN The Compound E�ect:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-compound-e�ect-darren-hardy/ )
○ "By the time my family gets up, I've won." - Brian Johnson #mq
○ Decide what's the most important thing for you to do, and then do it as early in the
day as possible.
● When you're at your absolute best, do the most important stu�. - after Scott Adams
○ (PN How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/how-to-fail-at-almost-everything-and-
still-win-big-scott-adams/ )
○ "After I blow my brain up, I can't create at the level I could before." - Brian Johnson
#mq
○ "At 3 pm, I'm a copier, not a creator." - after Scott Adams #mq
○ Match energy levels to the task.
○ Do monkey work at 3 pm, do creative work when you're most capable of it.
Covey's 4 Quadrants Move from IV to II
● (PN The 7 Habits of Highly E�ective People:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-7-habits-of-highly-e�ective-people-step
hen-covey/ )
○ Important (Y/N) vs. Urgent (Y/N)
○ I - Important + Urgent
○ II - Important + Not Urgent.
■ Sharpen the saw
○ III - Not Important + Urgent
■ Why even do this?
○ IV - Not Important + Not Urgent
■ Be �ercely committed to not doing this.
■ Chip away at the tar and clay covering the golden Buddha.
● When you're tempted to do a quadrant IV task, pivot to II. Still not urgent, but you've
moved from unimportant to important.
33
Timelines. Smarter ones.
● "There are no unrealistic goals, just unrealistic timelines." - Brian Johnson #mq
○ "Two things that stress me out: making goals that are almost impossibly ridiculous
to complete in near term, and goals that are too much about me." - Brian Johnson
#mq (Me too!)
○ Be good enough.
● DWYSYWD. Do what you say you will do.
○ (PN The Leadership Challenge:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-leadership-challenge-james-kouz
es-barry-posner/ )
○ That means not committing to deadlines that you can't hit.
● 3 Time projections: best case, conservative estimate, and middle.
○ Evan (Optimize COO) is awesome at this.
○ "I'm so �red up, and I actually think I can get it done in this amount of time, but I
also know things come up and it might take a bit longer, possibly until that amount
of time, but, I'm so excited, so lets go do it."
○ Then, do the work. Get way ahead of the schedule.
5. Action
Deep Work. High intensity of focus.
● (PN Deep Work: https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/deep-work-cal-newport/ )
● Do Deep Work before anything other than "must haves."
● High-Quality Work Produced = Intensity of Focus x Time.
○ Create periods of time where you're undistracted and completely focused on the
work.
○ Multitasking is a myth, for humans. It's more appropriate to call it task-switching,
which has costs. Attention residue
● "Deep work is simultaneously more rare and more valuable." - Cal Newport #mq
○ (PN Deep Work:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/deep-work-cal-newport/ )
○ Never before have we needed people who are thinking creatively.
○ If you want to be great, you have to do deep work.
○ We need to take breaks from deep work to use the internet, not the other way
around.
● 4 modes
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○ Hermit Style: All you, all deep work, all the time.
○ Bi-Modal: Part deep work, part engaged. Ex: Carl Jung
○ Rhythmic: Certain time every day. Ex: Brian
○ Journalistic: You do it when you can. Take whatever time you can.
● vs. Team Work (communication with team) and Monkey Work (or admin stu�)
○ Those things also need to get done, but AFTER you've done your deep work.
● Plan ahead of time.
○ Don't use all your best deep work time to tell yourself all the things you're going to
do. Do them.
○ Researching is OK, but be weary of it turning into a way to procrastinate on doing
the work.
WOOP. Wish. Outcome/Bene�t. Obstacle. Plan.
● From Gabriele Oettingen - Rethinking Positive Thinking
○ (PN Rethinking Positive Thinking:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/rethinking-positive-thinking-gabriele-
oettingen/ )
○ Wanted to prove that dreaming and visioning your ideal future worked. But it
didn't. She found that you need to take naive optimism and rub it up against
reality.
○ Have the faith that you can create the life you want, and know the fact that it will
be tough. Honor the tension between the two.
○ "I didn't get it quite right in authentic happiness. Easy to get seduced by
happiness, and then you do things like stare at vision board. If you want to
�ourish, rather than feel good, you actually need to have a little bit of that
discomfort." - after Martin Seligman #mq
○ Mental contrasting with implementation intentions.
● If all we do is visualize how awesome our lives are going to be, it won't work. Visualize
the challenges and overcome them.
○ Two groups, one did WOOP, and one did WO (Wish + Outcome).
○ Group that did the whole process lost more weight, vs. group just with Wish +
Bene�t.
● Wish. Outcome. Obstacle. Plan. #journal #exercise
○ Wish . Summarize in 1-3 words
■ Don't start skeptical! Start with your wish.
■ What do you want?
○ Outcome . Bene�t.
■ What will you experience as a result of your wish being realized?
○ Obstacle .
35
■ What might get in the way?
■ Focus on internal obstacles, although it can also be helpful to consider
external ones that you have some agency over.
○ Plan . If X then Y
■ In "IF..., THEN..." for each of the obstacles.
■ If I feel nervous, then I will say "I'm excited!" and thank my body for
preparing me to perform.
■ Think about how it's going to go well.
● Do on huge stu�, and tiny stu�.
○ WOOP in your mind for one minute before doing an interview.
○ WOOP your epic quest goal.
○ Interview with Gabrielle Oettingen has great meditation.
Body of work. Pros are proli�c.
● The greatest creators are the most proli�c. Great, brilliant creators are proli�c.
○ A tiny fraction of their work is considered great, but it took everything before to
get to that point.
● Don't tell yourself you have to make something perfect, just put in the time.
○ 50lbs of pots
○ Ship! Turn pro. - Steven Press�eld
○ (PN Turning Pro:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/turning-pro-steven-press�eld/ )
● Ship!
○ Create a super crappy version 1. Super crappy V1
■ I don't want something great, because that means you took too long.
■ I want the worst possible version one you can create; then we'll start
optimizing it.
○ "If you're not upset with what you launch, you've launched too late." - Seth Godin
#mq
■ (PN Do The Work:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/do-the-work-steven-press�eld
/ )
■ Trying to create at a 100% level is insane. Impossible.
■ Ship what you know it isn't perfect.
■ Focus on what's good enough, and get a little bit better next time.
■ Di�erent than making the resolution for building a habit, where 100%
commitment is easier.
36
Accrete Value. Take advantage of the compound e�ect.
● Accrete value: "grow by accumulation or coalescence."
○ Show up and do the day's deep work.
○ That work can be, initially, "Is this the right goal for me right now?"
● Compound e�ect.
○ Would you prefer the option of $2.5 million cash, or a penny that doubles every
day for a month?
○ Should ask what month it is. Day 29, 30. 31 is when the magic happens.
○ The doubling penny is the "right" choice outside of Feb
○ HARD for so much of the process.
○ VERY long time between your commitment and actually seeing truly material
results.
Single handle. Start --> �nish.
● When you start something, �nish it.
● It can take a ton of time to catch up on a project or get back into the �ow.
"Sit or stand, don't wobble." - Buddha #mq
● Don't be kind of doing something
● Enlightenment applied: Can you be intensely focused on whatever you're doing?
● Want to make a sacred vow, a commitment, that we're not going to back o� on.
○ We're not going to get that from a weekend. It happens over time.
● We've actually analyzed the price we're going to pay, and we're willing to pay it. Or not.
6. Energy
Eat. Real food. High fat + greens.
● If it didn't exist 150 years ago, you probably don't want to eat it
○ Ex: Vegetable oils. % of calories we get from them is crazy. It’s in salad dressings,
crackers, chips, etc. High omega six, not omega 3, creates in�ammation
○ It doesn't belong in our bodies.
● High fat + Greens
○ Can't combine high fat and high carbs, but high fat + greens, that's magic
37
● The thing you crave is pretty much always the thing that's least healthy for you.
○ The length of your life is inversely related to the length of the shelf life of the food
you're consuming.
● Make the connection between what you eat and how you feel.
○ On an observation level by being aware of your body
○ On a deeper level with blood tests, etc.
● Test blood for more speci�c biomarkers.
○ Ben Green�eld has been supporting Brian with this. He can see something is o�,
o�er an adjustment, and by the next blood test, it's in a super-optimal range.
Move. OTM + 25 min
● OTM: Opportunities to move.
○ (PN Don't Just Sit There:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/dont-just-sit-there-katy-bowman/ )
○ Stand, walk, move throughout the day.
○ Can be both active (workout) and sedentary (sit down all day).
● 25 minutes of heart-raising activity.
● (PN Spark: https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/spark-john-ratey/ )
● Exercise in nature = exercise squared
○ (PN Move Your DNA:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/move-your-dna-katy-bowman/ )
○ Forest bathing: Elements in nature, a chemical that is emitted from plants and
trees that reduces techno-stress
○ Creativity study in Ann Arbor. Half walked through the city, half through arboretum
( a beautiful garden). The arboretum group comes back and outperforms the other
group on creativity test.
Sleep. ~8 hours + naps
● People with lack of sleep have a poor memory for what they want to remember, and they
do remember what they don't want.
● Naps
○ (PN Take a Nap! Change Your Life.
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/take-a-nap-change-your-life-sara-me
dnick/ )
○ Research is unequivocal, naps improve creativity, energy, etc.
○ The ideal length is less than 20 minutes (before entering deep sleep) or 90 min (a
full cycle).
○ Brian typically takes a "napitation" sometime between 1-2pm.
38
● The day starts the night before.
○ Decide whether it's more important to rock the morning and have the energy to
have a masterpiece day, or catch up on the latest whatever.
○ Digital sunset hour before bed.
Breathing and Attention Training. Hit the mental gym.
● Master your awareness. Hit the mental gym!
○ (PN Wherever You Go There You Are:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/wherever-you-go-there-you-are-jon-k
abat-zinn/ )
○ "You can't be serious about this work and not meditate." - Brian Johnson #mq
○ Our awareness is the most important asset we have.
○ Go to the mind gym.
○ If you say these things are important, that's a price you need to be willing to pay.
○ The ability to put your mind where you want, when you want, for how long you
want - it's the skill that psychologists tell us is the most important attribute of the
greatest and happiest among us.
○ Improve your ability to focus and control
● Optimal Breathing
○ (PN Breathe: https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/breathe-belisa-vranich/ )
○ Through your nose.
■ Evolutionarily, we breathed through our nose, all the time.
■ Serious impact on ability to get oxygen out of hemoglobin and into bodies
● "The reality is we breathe too much." - after Patrick McKeown #mq
● (PN The Oxygen Advantage:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-oxygen-advantage-
patrick-mckeown/ )
● CO2 is what triggers hemoglobin to release Oxygen in the blood.
● Trigger right amount of CO2 levels by breathing deeply, but not big
○ Breathe deeply yet lightly. To the abdomen.
■ "Breathe the way a water snake goes across the top of the water." - after
Thich Nhat Hanh #mq
■ When you breathe, you want your belly to move in and out, rather than your
shoulders moving up and down.
■ Most valuable, underutilized muscle in the body: diaphragm
○ We can go weeks without food and days without water, but only minutes without
oxygen.
● Connect to the highest version of yourself. Average up!
39
○ God or The Higher Force (or whatever you want to call it,) is one of the 5 people I
want averaging me up.
○ 20 min meditation to connect to that place.
● Experiment. Find what works for you.
○ Try di�erent types of meditation.
○ Brian starts every meditation, napitation, and sleep, with the 6/2/7 "Centering
breath" or "On ramp," roughly in for 6, hold for 2, and out for 7 (or longer)
○ (PN Executive Toughness:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/executive-toughness-jason-selk/ )
○ Metta/compassion/loving kindness
○ Breathe focused or Vipassana
○ TM
○ etc.
"How are your fundamentals?" - Brian Johnson #mq
● Make mastering your fundamentals, a fun game.
○ See just how clear you can get.
○ Good sleep. Nutritional tweaks.
● When people come to me for coaching, my only question that matters is "How are your
fundamentals?"
○ The more challenging the opportunity and commitment, the higher the
commitment you need to be on the fundamentals.
○ You can't be ALL IN and not be grounded. Now is the time to lock them down.
○ You can see how tall a building will be by how deep they dig the foundation. To go
after big goals, and have a shallow foundation, is insane.
● Build your emotional stamina.
● You know all this stu� already. If you're really going to go for it, you need to dig deep.
Use willpower wisely. Play o�ense and commit 100%
● "People with the willpower we admire play o�ense, not defense." - after Roy Baumeister
#mq
○ (PN Willpower:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/willpower-roy-baumeister-john-tierne
y/ )
○ The people with the most willpower use it the least.
○ Use willpower to install habits that run on autopilot.
○ Take the data, don't beat yourself up about it, use it as data, and improve.
● 100% clear commitment.
40
○ "I want to think as little as I can." - Brian Johnson #mq
■ Make a decision on habits at 100%. The 1% invites the whiney voice in.
■ If you decided you're going to do something, don't negotiate with yourself
every day.
■ Our evolutionary answer is always to conserve energy, so if you need to
convince yourself to take action, you're biologically going to prefer not
doing it.
■ Do something productive with that energy, rather than use it to �ght
through that debate
○ "We'll have it occasionally." --> Is today the day? When? Right now? Today?
○ If you have a kind of sort of almost commitment, you don't even know when you're
breaking it.
■ In the legal world, good contracts have bright lines. It's unbelievably clear
what the two parties are agreeing to. (4 corners)
○ It's not that hard; it's just a willingness to make decisions.
● Make it really, really easy to do the wrong thing (or the things you don't want to do), and
really, really easy to do the right thing (the things you do want to do).
○ "Want to keep a pack of cigarettes around? Go put it in the garage, behind the
luggage, in a safe..." - after Dan Millman #mq
"Borrow" energy strategically, not habitually. (ex: ca�eine)
● If you need ca�eine all the time, then what you really need is to �x your energy.
● But, it's a great tool to use strategically.
● It doesn't stimulate, what it does is roughly mask adenosine, which is responsible for
telling your brain that it's tired.
● (PN Sleep Smarter:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/sleep-smarter-shawn-stevenson/ )
Hedonic pleasure vs. Eudaimonic pleasure. Rede�ning "fun."
● "At �rst you need to discipline yourself to do the right thing. Then after a while, the right
thing becomes the thing you're most �red up to do, and becomes the most fun thing to
do." - after Seneca #mq
● (PN Letters from a Stoic:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/letters-from-a-stoic-seneca/ )
● Most fun? The bigger picture. Really feeling alive. A grounded, tranquil, energized,
con�dent enthusiasm for life, that's joyful.
○ I want to be connected to my highest self, moment to moment to moment
○ I don't see a bag of Cheetos as fun.
41
Optimized Motivation. Make the connection between what you do and how you
feel.
● (PN No Sweat: https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/no-sweat-michelle-segar/ )
● Abstract motivation (want to live longer, etc.) will feel like a chore.
● Immediate and tangible motivation (if I do X, then I will feel Y) is more exciting.
● Committing to optimizing energy is a gift. A gift we're opening. A gift we're giving to
ourselves.
● We're playing a game! Trying to get to the next level.
Spirit
7. Wisdom
Be a Warrior of the Mind. Go from knowledge, theory, and ideas, to practice.
● Rudimentary spirituality is the theory. Advanced philosophy is the practice.
● The Enchiridion, sword, ready at hand
● Ancient philosophers wouldn't recognize modern philosophers.
Flexibility. Like a river between structure and spontaneity.
● Structure // Flexibility // Spontaneity
● "A healthy human being is �exible, kind of like a river. River of Flexibility. Two boarders.
Structure and Spontaneity." - after Dan Siegel #mq
○ (PN: Mindsight:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/mindsight-dan-siegel/ )
○ Hallmark of psychologically healthy human being is �exibility.
● The challenge is the river can over�ow one bank or the other.
○ Too much structure: rigidity
○ Too much spontaneity: chaos
● Application!
○ "I'm going to get less sleep this weekend because I don't get to hang out with you
often, and that's amazing." - Brian Johnson #mq
42
○ Typically very structured, but willing to apply a little spontaneity.
○ Hero training itself was a mix of structure and spontaneity.
Ego. Healthy and powerful.
● "What's going on with this idea that we want to annihilate the ego? The ego is the captain
of the ship. We need a healthy ego." - after Joseph Campbell #mq
○ You need a really strong ego if you want any help of channeling it in a positive
direction.
○ Rather than being driven by your impulses (Id) or other people/parents/society
(Superego), �nd a �rm foundation in yourself. (Ego)
● "Not ego minus, ego plus. " - Ken Wilber #mq
○ (PN Ken Wilber:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/ken-wilber-ken-wilber/ )
○ Greatest creators in the world shook the earth with the power of their ego.
○ Jesus. Gandhi. Most disciplined human on the planet. And simultaneously reduce
to zero, to plug into something bigger than himself.
● Self-actualization is a need that becomes as fundamental as the need to breathe. "Soul
oxygen." - after Abraham Maslow #mq
○ (PN Motivation and Personality:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/motivation-and-personality-abraham-
maslow/ )
○ To reach your highest potential, you need a strong foundation.
○ You need to achieve that, but not on the timeline you think you need.
● Self-Transcendence
○ Self-actualization was the original peak of Maslow's hierarchy of needs.
○ Later, the highest point became Self-Transcendence.
○ To transcend the self, you �rst have to be �rmly rooted in self.
○ "It's hard to let go of something that you never had a �rm grasp on." - after
Nathaniel Brandon #mq
○ (PN The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-six-pillars-of-self-esteem-nathani
el-branden/ )
The Engaged Master. Live intensely.
● Spirituality isn't the monk retreating in the Himalayas. We want to be engaged in life. In it.
○ Learn how to ride the waves. Don't avoid them in your cave, or a safe spot
○ Be willing to get your but kicked by the waves while you learn your skill
○ "A lot of spiritual teachers are dead from the neck down." - after Ken Wilber #mq
43
○ (PN Ken Wilber:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/ken-wilber-ken-wilber/ )
● Tantric Sage: Find bliss in the midst of su�ering and challenge.
○ Nirvana = extinguishment of su�ering for me, but that's not the end point for the
Boddhisatva. They come back willingly, into the world of su�ering and sorrow, and
don't rest until they've eliminated su�ering for others.
○ That's Superhero! "I have achieved a state of awesomeness, and that's nice, and
now I'm not going to rest until I help other people, until every sentient being, is
free of su�ering." - after Brian Johnson #mq
● Live Intensely
○ The Bhagavad Gita & The Dhammapada have an intensity with which they
command their students to live.
○ "When you're done with a good philosophy class, you should feel like you just left
the hospital." - after Epictetus #mq
○ (PN The Enchiridion:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-enchiridion-epictetus/ )
Yes + And. Both. Transcend and include.
● What do we all agree on?
○ "No one is smart enough to be 100% wrong, nor are they smart enough to be
100% right." - after Ken Wilber #mq
○ (PN Ken Wilber:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/ken-wilber-ken-wilber/ )
○ What are the commonalities?
○ Example: nutrition. Less sugar, less �our, more greens. That's not debatable.
○ Both making money, and being good.
● Transcend and include. Yes. And.
○ "You need to go above, transcend and include all the partial perspectives of the
prior stages of development." - after Ken Wilber #mq
○ (PN Ken Wilber:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/ken-wilber-ken-wilber/ )
○ Stages of Development (examples)
■ Blue - fundamentalist
■ Rational - capitalism, Ayn Rand
■ Green - pluralistic and seeing more than money. Compassion,
environmentalism
○ Make a heroic leap into the second tier of consciousness, see the partial truths in
all of them.
■ Each stage of development is partially right, but not 100% right.
44
■ If you're stuck in any stage and you think you're 100% right, and everyone
else is 100% wrong, you're going to have problems.
● Example: Free will vs. destiny. Both! Yes, and...
○ Let one fuel the other.
○ Have the faith there is something that the world is asking from me. Believe that we
are unequivocally called to self-actualize (which again is asymptotic).
○ Then, do you have the will to actually do the things to allow that essence to come
through?
● Barbell strategy (super aggressive + super conservative) Stockdale paradox (optimistic +
grounded reality).
Learn from Masters. Deeply.
● "I don't read what isn't written by masters, anymore." - Brian Johnson #mq
● An author who writes a book, that's the best stu� they've been working on for years. A
genius who dedicated their entire life to it. Be engaged with that process.
○ Speed reading is like going to a conversation with a friend and fast-talking.
○ Bring book to Starbucks and imagining sitting down and having a conversation
with that person.
States and Stages. Do the work.
● Can pop up from a stage of development, up to a higher state, during events like this.
They reveal to us what we're capable of.
○ It's like being shot out of a cannon, from your normal stage to a higher one.
○ I guarantee you it will happen. The state you will experience this weekend is
higher than that of your baseline.
● Unless you have tools and habits in place to maintain that state, you get a rude drop
back to where you were.
○ Turn the state, into a trait, into who you are, and the only way to do that is rolling
up your sleeves and doing the work.
● Build the sca�olding so that state experiences, diligently, patiently, and persistently
become your normal state of being.
Guard your attention. "I don't know, and I don't care." - Ryan Holiday #mq
● (PN The Daily Stoic:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-daily-stoic-ryan-holiday-stephen-hansel
man/ )
45
○ Be the gatekeeper to the information you let into your consciousness.
○ (PN The Seventh Sense
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-seventh-sense-joshua-cooper-ra
mo/ )
■ "Not about having your head in the sand, but you cannot bombard yourself
with every piece of news, and entertainment, and have any sense of inner
tranquility." - Brian Johnson #mq
● Social media and smartphones are designed to be ADDICTING
○ (PN The Distracted Mind:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-distracted-mind-adam-gazzaley-l
arry-rosen/ )
○ They are designed to capture your attention and not let go, just like a slot machine
○ Built by human beings who have put energy into the science of getting attention.
○ "We all need to face up to our addiction." - Brian Johnson #mq
○ Crazy to hear Brian talk about how quickly he got back into addictive "rat-like"
behavior after a hiatus.
● Too much news/social/etc. --> overwhelm and depression
○ The greatest predictor of depression and anxiety = the number of hours people
watch talk shows.
○ (PN One Spirit Medicine
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/one-spirit-medicine-alberto-villoldo/ )
○ "Go back in the day, our brains evolved to deal with one lion. These days, it's as if
the entire jungle is rising up every moment of every day." - after Alberto Villoldo
○ Your limbic system can't handle that
○ PTSD & Boston Marathon bombing.
○ (PN The Upside of Stress:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-upside-of-stress-kelly-mcgonigal/
)
■ 6 hrs of news coverage had greater PTSD than people who experienced it.
■ The limbic system can't tell the di�erence.
○ One amazing hero in the Optimizing community is on a quest to create legislation
that requires news to come with a warning sticker!
● Choose to disconnect.
○ "Make decisions, not sacri�ces." - George St-Pierre #mq
○ (PN The Way of the Fight:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-way-of-the-�ght-georges-st-pierr
e/ )
○ At the very least, unplug an hour before bed, and don't plug in until after an hour
of deep work.
○ (PN The Shallows:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-shallows-nicholas-carr/ )
46
○ In�uenced by Cal Newport, Brian does no digital news. Reads the Economist once
a week.
○ Don't take a break from wi�, plug it in to use it.
● Disconnect to go deep.
○ (PN The Shallows:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-shallows-nicholas-carr/ )
○ Quit allowing your attention to be paper cut, or you'll live in the shallows.
○ Everyone is living in the shallows these days.
○ We need to go deep. Be willing to go deep.
8. Courage
Courage: The virtue that vitalizes all others.
● (PN The Leadership Challenge:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-leadership-challenge-james-kouzes-barr
y-posner/ )
● Coeur is Latin for heart. Just as the heart pumps blood and vitalizes all of the other
organs, courage vitalizes all of the other virtues.
● Courage isn't the absence of fear; it's feeling the fear, committing to something bigger,
and doing it anyway.
Conquer fear in 30 seconds: Check in on your expectations.
● (PN The Silva Mind Control Method of Mental Dynamics:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-silva-mind-control-method-of-mental-dy
namics-jose-silva-burt-goldman/ )
● "I got this!"
○ Believe it's going to go well. If you believe it's going to go poorly, you'll get
anxious and create that.
○ Shift from negative expectation to a positive expectation.
○ Every time you have a doubt!
● Set a really conservative �oor. "I hope one person get's one idea that can transform their
lives." - Brian Johnson #mq
● "I'm excited!"
● "Bring it on!"
47
"I'm excited!" Channel your high arousal states.
● (PN The Upside of Stress:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-upside-of-stress-kelly-mcgonigal/ )
● When you're going to do something that matters to you, you're in a high arousal state.
Choose to label it as, "I'm excited!"
○ You don't have to overthink it, just say it. Let that be the label for the experience
you have, and it's true. Because it is true.
○ Initially you might have to convince yourself (like Brian did), but eventually, you
might realize that it IS genuine excitement!
○ Excitement = high arousal + positive expectation
■ High arousal + negative expectation = anxious
■ High arousal + positive expectation = excitement
○ When you're nervous or excited, don't ask "What's wrong with me?" It's normal!
Your body is getting you ready to go.
○ (PN The Upside of Stress:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-upside-of-stress-kelly-mcgonigal/
)
○ Threat response vs. Challenge response - after Kelly McGonigal
● "Calm down" isn't the answer: most people can't go from a super high state to super low
state.
○ Channel the high arousal state into a positive expression, rather than negative
expression. Or trying to remove the high arousal state
○ "A race car driver who wants to win has a V12. That's hard to drive at 200+ mph
around tight loops. If they wanted to, they could put a lawnmower in, and it's
easier to drive. But you won't win. You need to get really good at operating in a
high arousal state." - after John Eliot #mq
○ (PN Overachievement:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/overachievement-john-eliot/ )
○ "Every single thing that is happening you when you feel those nerves is great for
you. It helps you improve your performance, to the extent that you interpret it
properly." - after John Eliot #mq
○ (PN Overachievement:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/overachievement-john-eliot/ )
○ Research study: Participants give an impromptu talk to judges who are looking at
them sternly. Half are told to say "I'm calm," and the others say "I'm excited." The
excited people perform better.
48
"Bring it on!" Reversal of desire. Learn to LOVE fear.
● (PN The Tools:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-tools-barry-michels-phil-stutz/ )
● The barrier between you and your in�nite potential is fear.
○ It’s the edge of your comfort zone.
○ Between in�nite potential and current reality, the barrier zone is fear.
● Get really comfortable being uncomfortable. Being in that growth zone.
○ By de�nition, outside of the comfort zone, it's uncomfortable.
○ Our entire society is built around us being comfortable. Change it up.
○ Make it a habit of going outside of your comfort zone.
○ Comfort zone stretches every time, and you adapt.
● Adaptability: the ultimate tool.
○ "We all have the gift of greatness. And the gift is adaptability." - after Anders
Ericsson #mq
○ (PN Peak:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/peak-anders-ericsson-robert-pool/ )
● Fear = a sign you are growing into your potential!
○ Say "Bring it on," the moment you feel fear. Lean into that fear!
○ Reversal of desire. Look at fear as a signal that you have an opportunity to grow.
○ The more you commit to a heroic path, the more fear you will feel. Fear is not
going away.
● Yell it to yourself! "BRING IT ON!!!"
○ "Pain sets me free! I love pain!"
● Make these the default! "I'm excited!" and "Bring it on!"
Jump! It's not as wide as you think.
● "When you get to a chasm, jump. It's not as wide as you think." - after Joseph Campbell
#mq
○ (PN A Joseph Campbell Companion:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/a-joseph-campbell-companion-josep
h-campbell/ )
● Before you're 100% completely ready.
○ "If you need absolute certainty, what you are guaranteed is absolute terror." - after
Phil Stutz #mq
○ (PN The Tools:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-tools-barry-michels-phil-stutz/ )
● "When you follow your bliss, doors appears where there were only walls before." - after
Joseph Campbell #mq
49
● (PN Pathways to Bliss:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/pathways-to-bliss-joseph-campbell/ )
9. Love
Love 2.0* Micro-moments of Positivity Resonance.
● (PN Love 2.0: https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/love-2-0-barbara-fredrickson/ )
● Upgrade and rede�ne what love is.
○ "Love is micro-moments of positivity resonance." - Barbara Fredrickson #mq
○ (PN Love 2.0:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/love-2-0-barbara-fredrickson/ )
■ Be the one who's seeing the best in someone else, and call it out.
■ See the awesome in other people.
○ Not "I love you." With you being a certain number of close people.
○ Measure what love looks like, in the brain and heart, and can see that happening
in many interactions.
● "Love is available to us at every moment of every day." - Barbara Fredrickson #mq
○ (PN Love 2.0:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/love-2-0-barbara-fredrickson/ )
○ Every moment gives us the opportunity to be in love
○ Hunt for three of them. See if you can see three in a day.
● Love in two ways: compassionate and celebratory
○ Compassionate Love: See someone struggling --> Micro moment to practice
compassion.
■ Beam them just a little bit of love.
■ Someone being angry, hostile, or rude, they're su�ering. A lot.
■ If they're as rude as they are to the people outside their head, think about
how rude they are inside their head.
○ Celebratory Love: See someone with a spring in their step, beam them celebratory
love.
■ "You are on �re! I wish you continued joy and abiding happiness." - after
Barbara Fredrickson #mq
■ (PN Love 2.0:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/love-2-0-barbara-fredrickson/ )
■ Take that also as, "Thank you for modeling that in my life.
● * Love 2.0 might be the book that most changed Brian
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Celebrating. Celebrate yourself and celebrate others. A lot. :)
● If all we're focusing on is where we (or others) fall short, we're in trouble.
○ "Taking things in life for granted is the most evil non-evil thing we can do." - after
Abraham Maslow #mq
○ Easy to take someone, or life for granted.
○ Focus on and shine a spotlight on the positives. On the great things.
○ Self-actualizing people have fresh appreciation.
● "That's like me."
○ Lanny Bassham, Gold Medalist, and World Record holding sharp-shooter.
■ (PN With Winning in Mind:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/with-winning-in-mind-lanny-ba
ssham/ )
■ When he hits a shot, he always says "That's like me!" Internalize your wins!
■ If he misses it, he says "needs work."
○ When you do something you aspire to do, FEAST on that.
■ Feast on that all day every day.
■ Anytime you do something in alignment with your goals and best self, give
yourself a high �ve. Check your box. Draw a smiley face.
■ "I just did what I say I wanted to do."
● Social persuasion.
○ Be the one celebrating and persuading other people in positive ways.
○ See the best in others.
● Celebrating and relationships.
○ SO important.
○ When your partner or kid says "I just did X," respond "You did? Tell me about it! I'm
�red up for you..."
○ All relationships spiral, just like people
■ Know that even awesome relationships are going to have challenges.
■ Con�ict is inherent. Especially when there are two powerful people.
■ Some things you will never change, and you need to allow that to be OK.
○ Most therapy in couples focuses on con�ict, but it's more important to learn how to
celebrate.
○ John Gottman. Therapy focused on what works.
○ (PN 7 Principles for Making Marriage Work
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-seven-principles-for-making-marr
iage-work-john-gottman-nan-silver/ )
● Celebrating the heroes at Hero Training
○ I was RIDICULOUSLY inspired by all of the amazing people at the event, especially
those who were courageously in the middle of the journey.
51
○ As Brian told one attendee, "Who you are. Who you're being. That's heroic. To take
this experience and alchemize it. To stand in the thick of it. That's the de�nition of
heroic anti-fragility."
Self-Compassion. Love yourself.
● (PN Self-Compassion:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/self-compassion-kristin-ne�/ )
● 1. Be nice to yourself.
○ When you fall short, and you disappoint yourself, be nice
○ Talk to yourself the way you would talk to a dear friend or young child
● 2. Common humanity
○ Not “what is wrong with me that I'm experiencing this, again?"
○ "There is no worse sickness of the soul than the pretense of perfect." - after Rumi
#mq
○ (PN Rumi Daylight:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/rumi-daylight-rumi/ )
○ "You're not experiencing this because you're you, you're experiencing this
because you're human." - after Steve Chandler #mq
○ "There are no perfect human beings." - Abraham Maslow #mq
○ (PN Toward a Psychology of Being:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/toward-a-psychology-of-being-abrah
am-maslow/ )
■ You're not going to be the �rst!
■ Henry Fonda threw up before going on stage in his 70s!
● 3. Mindfulness
○ Being aware of what's going on.
○ See where attention is, and choose to put it where you want.
○ "Name it, to tame it." - after Dan Siegel #mq
■ (PN: Mindsight:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/mindsight-dan-siegel/ )
■ Identify it, label it. Just a word or two, not a complete breakdown
■ Prefrontal cortex (reason) vs. amygdala (fear! alert! danger!) work like a
seesaw.
■ Recognize when your amygdala is hot and cool it down by labeling what's
going on. "fear again."
● Fall short? Just say "Needs work."
○ "Sometimes you can't." - Mark Divine #mq
○ (PN The Way of the SEAL:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-way-of-the-seal-mark-divine/ )
52
○ Commander of Navy SEALs. Author of Unbeatable Mind and The Way of the SEAL.
○ (PN Unbeatable Mind
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/unbeatable-mind-mark-divine/ )
○ (PN The Way of the Seal
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-way-of-the-seal-mark-divine/ )
○ Brian picked him up for a sunrise hike when he was going through a challenging
time, and asked, "When you're going through a challenging time, what do you do
to turn o� the brain?" He responded: "Sometimes you can't. [...] I didn't. I was up. I
was thinking about it."
○ One of the most mentally tough human beings on the planet, and he's not perfect.
○ Sometimes all of the things you want to put into practice just don't work. We're not
going to snap our �ngers and get rid of the work and just be perfect.
A vital person vitalizes. Demonstrate what's possible.
● "The hero quest isn't an ego trip. It is in itself an act of love. A vital person, on that quest,
vitalizes." - after Joseph Campbell #mq
○ (PN A Joseph Campbell Companion:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/a-joseph-campbell-companion-josep
h-campbell/ )
○ Through Rourke in The Fountainhead, "Show me your work. Show me you at your
best." - Ayn Rand #mq
○ (PN The Fountainhead:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-fountainhead-ayn-rand/ )
● The only thing we can ever do for someone is to demonstrate what's possible.
● Your presence as a vital, happy, radiant human being is an act of love
○ Every act of love you do for yourself is really a gift to those who you love.
Gratitude. The secret sauce.
● (PN Thanks!: https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/thanks-robert-emmons/ )
● It sounds obvious, and it is, so just do it.
○ Writing down �ve things you're grateful for, once a week, boosts happiness 20%+,
according to research by Sonja Lyubomirsky
● Get into a grateful �ow.
○ (PN The Tools:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-tools-barry-michels-phil-stutz/ )
○ Anytime you're feeling a barrier, or challenged, or down, just look around you and
think of the most mundane things you can be grateful for.
○ Doesn't have to be huge. The wind. The sun. The people around you. Food. Water.
53
● Turn ruminating into gratitude.
○ Ruminating is what a cow does. Chew. Digest. Spit up. Chews more. Swallows.
That's what we do when we're not feeling good.
○ (PN The How of Happiness:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-how-of-happiness-sonja-lyubomir
sky/ )
○ "That's like pouring concrete over the garden you hope to cultivate." - Pema
Chodron #mq
○ (PN The Places that Scare You:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-places-that-scare-you-pema-cho
dron/ )
○ Shift to a grateful �ow instead.
"The secret of leadership is love." - Jim Kouzes
● (PN The Leadership Challenge:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-leadership-challenge-james-kouzes-barr
y-posner/ )
● Leaders who inspire hope, have employees that go from 1% to 69% engagement!
○ (PN Making Hope Happen:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/making-hope-happen-shane-lopez/ )
○ Want an engaged family? Or business? Create a vision for that.
● 1st law for leadership. Before people buy into the vision of what you're selling, they buy
into the messenger of the message.
○ You need to be worthy of their trust.
○ Am I worthy of leading you?
● 2nd law: DWYSYWD
○ Do what you say you will do.
○ From the most mundane, to the biggest issues.
○ If it changes, renegotiate.
Deep Love. Make time for it.
● Everything that applies to Deep Work applies to Deep Love too.
● Be vulnerable and honest.
○ "What do people most want to see? Vulnerability. What's the last thing people
want to give when they're in front of people? Vulnerability." - after Brene Brown
#mq
54
○ (PN The Gifts of Imperfection:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-gifts-of-imperfection-brene-brow
n/ )
○ Fun fact, she said she had the "worst possible vulnerability hangover imaginable"
after she gave her TED talk.
○ "When someone says 'to be honest,' does that imply that they're not honest the
rest of the time?" - Brian Johnson #mq
● Don't fall victim to the iPhone e�ect.
○ (PN Are You Fully Charged?:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/are-you-fully-charged-tom-rath/ )
○ Simply having a phone in sight diminishes the quality of connection between
people.
○ Consider shutting down and putting away the computer and phone before the
evening starts.
● Self-care and your partner.
○ Know your partner's number one self-care habit, and support them with it,
because you want to help them.
○ I want to do this, and I want to support you in doing that...
● If family is important to you, you'll have to make tradeo�s.
○ Tal Ben-Shahar, wanted to work 16 hrs, be in ridiculous shape, be a great father
and husband "When I do the math, I can't do all those things."
○ (PN The Pursuit of Perfect:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-pursuit-of-perfect-tal-ben-shahar/
)
○ For men, purpose is often more important than relationships in many ways.
■ From David Deida, The Way of the Superior Man.
■ (PN David Deida:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-way-of-the-superior-man-
david-deida/ )
■ The drive to do things is a powerful drive.
■ Committed to both being exemplary teacher, entrepreneur, leader, etc. rubs
up with reality.
● Elevate being a parent (or partner). Raise it up and give it purpose.
○ Mommastery (like monastery) + Mom-mastery
○ Growth as human being and spirituality can come from children.
○ Always opportunity for transformation
○ Momma-goddess.
55
The essence of humanity. Is love, is connection.
● A healthy human being lives from love, compassion, etc.
● What do I want to see in this world?
Challenging people and challenging times. Give them love.
● In our lives, we all have petty tyrants. Celebrate them, because they are actually
challenging us to live these virtues
○ "The Toltec Warrior: A person who views everything in life as a challenge while
striving to act with impeccability and to approach life’s challenges with humility
and courage." - Carlos Castaneda #mq
○ (PN The Wheel of Time:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-wheel-of-time-carlos-castaneda/ )
○ They are gifting us the opportunity to practice.
○ "Want to see how enlightened you are? Go spend a week with your parents." -
after Ram Dass #mq
● What do you do with those people who are in victim mode or resistant to change?
Answer: Stop banging your head against the wall.
○ To accept that you can't change other people, that's hard. But it's true.
○ I want to support you, and this is kind of challenging.
● Heroes respond to negativity heroically.
10. en*theos
en*theos. God within (or whatever your preferred name is for "that thing")
● The Greeks called it our Daimon
● Grow into a deeper connection to the light within you.
Eudaimonia. Good Soul.
● (Master Class - Stoicism 101: https://www.optimize.me/master-class/stoicism-101/ )
● eu-daimon = Good soul.
○ Act with areté, in alignment with your virtues and as your highest self, moment to
moment to moment.
○ That will make your inner daimon happy, and that makes you �ourish.
56
● Radiant enthusiasm.
Euthymia. Tranquility. Energized groundedness.
● (PN Ego Is the Enemy:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/ego-is-the-enemy-ryan-holiday/ )
● Energized tranquility + Calm con�dence + Grounded power + Stability
● Comes from walking your path, not anyone else's.
○ Not looking side to side, or comparing.
○ Honoring your own internal compass. Living with areté.
● Throw dust on bright lights. Focus ruthlessly on showing up.
○ Refuse to be seduced by the things outside of your control.
○ Imagine leaving the bright lights and red carpet and cruising up to an old decrepit
house, falling apart, abandoned, a ton of dust, etc. Go to the attack, scoop up
some dust, throw it on the bright lights. Story from Phil Stutz.
○ Bright lights symbolize that something outside of you can make you feel like
you've made it. Happy. Powerful. Whatever. But that's not true.
○ "I'm not subject to the bright lights to determine how I feel in this moment." - Brian
Johnson #mq
Your potential is an asymptote. The journey never ends.
● (PN Mastery: https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/mastery-george-leonard/ )
● Your potential is always going to be out of your reach.
○ Growth is asymptotic. You will NEVER achieve your potential.
○ You'll always be optimizing and experimenting.
○ Always at a new edge.
● "It's always day one at Amazon." - Je� Bezos #mq
● (PN The Power of Starting Something Stupid:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-power-of-starting-something-stupid-richi
e-norton/ )
Enjoy the journey. Happiness is �ourishing. (and a verb)
● (PN The Pursuit of Perfect:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-pursuit-of-perfect-tal-ben-shahar/ )
● Growth is not straight up; it's not even jagged upwards.
○ "Enlightenment" is a �xed state mindset.
○ Show up day in and day out
57
○ If you follow your bliss, there's always a chance of �asco, but you also a shot at
hitting your target. Show up. Be willing to tolerate the ambiguity.
● "There's no such thing as balance. Balance is a verb, not a noun. It's balancing." - after
Osho #mq
○ (PN The Book of Understanding:
https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-book-of-understanding-osho/ )
○ Even a world class tightrope walker is never balanced, there's a dynamic
equilibrium of corrections.
● Optimizing is one of the hallmarks of �ourishing human beings.
○ It's hard to have a sustainable level of joy that comes with challenges otherwise.
○ Flourishing and eudaimonia are di�erent from hedonic bliss.
● It's not about ever reaching the destination.
● Life is an iterative, never exonerated thing.
○ The perennial problem, which has no answer: How to wrestle with being a tiny
part of a big world, and simultaneously a tiny part of it and at the center of our own
universe.
BONUS: Join the Movement!
● Optimize is all about. "How do we give the best to the most for the least."
○ Using business as a powerful force for good.
○ To see who had the most power, look at the tallest buildings. Church --> Castle -->
Banks/Corporations.
○ Lead with that generosity and that love.
● It's a movement. Move-ment. 1M (1 movement)
○ Movement towards the epic quest, to together create the world we want to live in.
As well as micro-movements in families and communities.
○ We want to create a higher center of gravity.
○ "I would be an evangelist if I only had a religion in which I believed." - Brian
Johnson #mq
○ "Whole foods is my church. Whole foods is my ministry. This is my work." - after
John Mackey #mq
● At some point, this movement will hit a tipping point.
● www.optimize.me
58
THE HERO'S JOURNEY: RESOURCES
Bill Moyers & Joseph Campbell Interview Series: Joseph
Campbell and the Power Of Myth
http://billmoyers.com/series/josephcampbellandthepowerofmyth1988/
VIA Character Strengths Assessment
http://www.viacharacter.org/www/CharacterStrengthsSurvey
● Positive Psychology created by Martin Seligman, with the intention of getting people to
their highest potential. He studied all di�erent wisdom literature, identi�ed 6 core virtues,
and operationalized them into distinct character strengths
● Cornerstone of positive psychology: Areté in action. Virtue in action.
● The happiest people use their strengths often, in service to others.
Finding Joe - a �lm by Patrick Takaya Solomon
http://�ndingjoethemovie.com/
● "'What's your movie about?' Oh you know, 'Heroes journey, following your bliss kind of
stu�.'" - Pat Solomon
● “I don't believe people are looking for the meaning of life as much as they are looking for
the experience of being alive.” - Joseph Campbell
● "The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are." - Joseph Campbell
● Contributors
○ Alan Cohen - author
○ Robert Walter - president of Joseph Campbell Foundation
○ Brian Johnson - philosopher/entrepreneur
○ Gay Hendricks - author and founder of Hendricks institute
○ Chungliang al huang - president of Living Tao foundation/Tai Chi masters
○ Rashida Jones - actress/screenwriter
59
○ Catharine - director Twilight
○ Robin Sharma -
○ Akiva Goldsman -
○ Rebecca Armstrong - Reverend
○ Norman Ollestad - author, “Crazy for the Storm”
○ Sir Ken Robinson - author, educator
○ Lynne Kaufman - playwright
○ Sir Ken Robinson -
○ Tony Hawk - pro skateboarder
○ Laird Hamilton - pro surfer
● Story of the Temple of the Golden Buddha, Thailand. - Alan Cohen
○ Monks covered a statue of buddha with stone so invading army wouldn’t think it
was valuable
○ Eventually, no one remembered that the Buddha was golden, until a young monk
was meditating and he saw something shiny underneath the concrete
○ Each of us is golden by nature, we are born knowing, high, connected to bliss,
knowing everything spiritual masters have said. Christ. Buddha. And over time we
develop a casing of stone at a young age. So by 4,5,6 we believe we’re stone
instead of golden. But eventually, something comes along and cracks casing. And
we see the golden. The moment you see that gold, the armor and concrete will
never satisfy you again. And all you want to do is pick away the stone, because
the gold is so much more fun. - Alan Cohen
● Joseph Campbell
○ Leading mythology experts of all time.
■ Studied all these classical myth traditions.
● Native american mythology (where he started)
● Aboriginal
● Greek mythology
● Arthurian legend.
○ Philosopher.
■ Ability to see truth in a world where we’ve lost sight of that in many ways.
■ Dissected and diagramed our stories
■ Compared philosophises
● The Hero’s Journey
○ In spite of all di�erent stories we seem to be telling, they’re really only one. all the
same.
○ They all �t together, they’re basically all the same story.
○ “Holy crap, it’s all the same thing. It’s really all the same thing.” - Rashida Jones
during Religion Final for degree
○ 3 parts: Separation, initiation, return
● Hero’s Journey Pattern/algorithm with three parts
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○ Separation
■ In one kind of reality in a place, but then separated from that
■ Call to adventure
■ Vision/quest
○ Initiation
■ Put into another place where you are in some ways initiated
■ Trials, ordeals
■ Obstacles
■ People that help and hurt you
■ Doors will open that are yours and not others
■ Dragons will appear
■ Get to a innermost cave that is the true crisis
○ Return
■ You come back
■ Return to tell the story
● All of our stories are ONE story
○ If all stories boil down into one map, we can use that map. Because all human
beings are the same. We’re not separate from the characters we see in movies
and novels, they are us.
○ “Storytelling is about people learning something. Going to place that is dark and
mysterious. Faced with yourself. Relationship between facing fear and this kind of
soul game. Acquire quality, hidden strength, value. Moments where someone is
tested and moves to a place that feels like a crises. And then they are restored,
redeemed, made better through that trial. And we call them heroes.” - Akiva
Goldsman
○ A journey of life
■ We need some reason, some meaning for this existence. Even in a simple
life.
○ Great movies speak to us, our seed of potential waiting to be actualized.
■ Try hard you get.
■ Little engine that could.
■ Idea that we really can do better. Be better. That our greatest selves are still
hidden.
○ Always about how to deal with own inner resources
○ Ordinary moving to extraordinary. Moving through dark to come to the light. By
pushing through the scariest things you can imagine.
● Lessons from the Myths
○ Go beyond what we perceive as the limits of our possibility
○ Mythology is always a metaphor for our human existence
■ “The function of mythological symbols is to give you a sense of ‘Aha! Yes. I
know what it is, it’s myself.’” - Joseph Campbell
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■ Not history, but stories
■ Metaphor for life and universal experiences
■ Narrative for psyche
■ Metaphor for transformation process
■ Heaven right now, on the earth.
○ Better to have story to look through than an explanation, because the story is
richer.
○ This mythical domain is really part of everyone. It’s our soul. It’s our song.
● Why aren’t we living this?
○ If you’re a tiger living among sheep, you are a pretty poor specimen of a tiger. And
we are all tigers living among sheep. We are all individuals with a self that we don’t
begin to understand. And the food we get from the culture around us is food for
sheep, it’s not food for tigers.
○ You have to at least catch the spark of what your life could be, or you’ll end up on
the top of a ladder that you don’t love
○ Most people live under mass hypnosis
■ Pressure in media of keeping people in their place: happy, tranced out
consumers
● Comfort
● Keeping head down
■ Most people think it’s a luxury/privilege to collect things, stu�, make money,
do things. But it’s a treadmill
■ Wierd sense of what’s real, and ideas imposed upon us from the outside of
what we should/shouldn’t do
■ Letters after name that is a stamp of credibility
○ Fear
■ Why do most people not follow bliss? Fear. Primarily fear of what others will
think of us.
■ “What will they think of me must be put aside for bliss.” - Joseph Campbell
■ Family is well meaning, but will frequently collude to create a story that can
be hard to get out of
■ We are each our own greatest inhibitors
■ “I want to sing like birds sing. Not worrying who listens, or what they think.”
- Rumi
○ The reality most people live in is really just an illusion. One interpretation of this is
the Matrix.
● The Call to Adventure
○ Beginning of the “Separation” part of the story
○ “The “call to adventure” – signi�es that destiny has summoned the hero.” - Joseph
Campbell
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■ Almost like phone ringing. Universe literally dials you up and ringing, giving
you a call to step out and live your journey.
■ Makes it impossible for you to continue as you are.
○ Chinese symbol for crisis: Danger + Opportunity.
■ Often the exact thing we need to catapult us into the next version of
ourselves.
■ When one story line collapses, it’s really the start of a new journey
○ To be the hero of your life means to be responsible for your own adventure.
■ "Your life is the fruit of your own doing. You have no one to blame but
yourself." - Joseph Campbell
■ People wake up to the fact that they’re the hero of their own life when they
get tired of being the victim of their own life.
■ Fat I had was organized around feelings that I didn’t want to feel.
● Metaphorical Death
○ Metaphorical death, where something dies so that something new can live.
■ “The snake that cannot shed it’s skin must perish.” - Nietzsche
■ No death, no life. No transformation. No Change.
○ Indication that change is taking place
■ Just a death of one old form that is played itself out and has no use
anymore
■ Gives rise to some new form, like the phoenix, that makes life bigger and
better
○ For new revelation and insight, you will learn to keep dying.
○ Tricky to a�ord a “proof.” Proofs exist in our ability to transcend the worst things
that have happened to us.
○ It’s not what happens to us. It’s what we do with it.
● The Forest. Darkness. Unknown. Edge of world.
○ Takes a hero to go into the forest
■ People in community don’t understand why you want to go in, and even
pull you back. “Why can’t you be happy here?”
○ Have to �nd your own path
■ Holy Grail
● Noble thing to do was to go into the forest at their own points.
● Each knight enters the forest where it was darkest and there is no
path
● They can’t follow others
● They have to �nd their own entries
■ If you go into the forest where there’s already a trail, that’s the one sure
sign you aren’t on your own path
● “Follow your bliss.” - Joseph Campbell
○ Listen to heart. Follow truth.
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■ Having courage to look inside and say, what am I here to do? What are my
greatest gifts? How can I give them to the world?
■ The thing you can’t NOT do.
○ Most profound teaching there is.
■ Bliss. Not ecstasy or happiness, but a type of serenity
○ Grounded in Hindu spirituality
■ From Upanishads
● Sat (beingness)
● Chit (consciousness)
● Ananda (bliss/rapture)
■ “I don’t know what beingness is. I don’t know what consciousness is. But I
do know what my bliss is. And I can follow my bliss.”
○ Do what makes you feel most alive.
■ Not what other people think is your bliss.
■ Your most serene and ful�lling state.
■ Sometimes it’s hard to accept the possibilities of the present.
○ NOT about pleasure
■ Hedonism, sex, candy, etc.
○ Almost everyone “on top of the mountaintop” didn’t get there because they were
following the money.
● How do we �nd our bliss?
○ Find out what you most love to do, and then do more of that thing.
■ What am I passionate about? What do I love doing? What are the activities
that seem to pass by in which hours go by like minutes.
■ Ask yourself: What was it that made me di�erent as a child? What set me
apart? What caused me to cry at night in my pillow because I didn’t �t in
with the in crowd?
■ With all the money and all the time in the world, how would you express
yourself? How would that bene�t the larger web of being?
○ Explore who you are
■ Some people write.
● “Writing in a journal is a conversation that you have with yourself.” -
Robin Sharma
■ Others collect images.
■ Bypass the outer barrier to your own sense of energy.
○ Go looking
■ Start doing stu� before you know what your bliss is
■ Part of the journey is exploration
■ Just because you are looking for your bliss, means that you are on the
journey. And looking.
■ Try things you’ve never done before
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● Speak to new people
● Take di�erent routes
■ Don’t anticipate what you �nd
■ Just because you don’t know what your talents are means that you don’t
have any
○ Challenge yourself
■ “Put yourself in uncomfortable situation at least every 7 days.” - Robin
Sharma
■ “We grow the most through the things that stretch us the most.” - Robin
Sharma
■ “Don’t do what daddy says, because daddy has one interest in mind: your
security. And if you bargain away your life for security, you will never �nd
your bliss.”
○ "Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors where there were only walls." -
Joseph Campbell
■ Unseen forces have the power to rearrange things to accommodate your
step of faith
■ I kept writing until I got lucky. If I stopped writing, I wouldn’t have gotten
lucky.
■ Just keep doing it, and eventually you’re likely to get lucky
● Not always a pretty process
■ Magical things happen that we couldn’t have imagined when we are going
through the tough decision to make the leap.
■ Opportunities to �nd deeper powers within ourselves.
○ Two roads in life. Red and black.
■ Red is narrow, winding, stormy, tough
■ Black road is easy, straight, wide, challenge free
■ Always the choice is yours
○ “Find a place where there is joy, and the joy will burn out the pain.” - Joseph
Campbell
● The Dragon
○ "Opportunities to �nd deeper powers within ourselves come when life seems most
challenging." - Joseph Campbell
○ When we go on hero’s journey, there’s a dragon we must slay
○ Most challenging, �erce creature that can be created in mythology
■ Beast covered with scales. On every scale it says “thou shalt” or “thou shalt
not”
■ Beast is a construction of all rules, obligation, social things, etc
○ Slaying the dragon is the �nal moment
■ Faced with the scariest thing you will be faced with
■ Take everything you’ve learned, and knock this guy out.
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○ Fear
■ The one thing that keeps people from the mountaintop.
■ Fear is a monster. It’s anything that gets in you.
■ Rejected, us or our work.
■ Fear that is unfaced has a tendency to creep
■ Love is what we’re born with. Fear is what we learn.
○ Courage
■ Fear is an inherent part of the human experience. It’s not about getting rid
of it. But to have courage, and to move forward in spite of the fear you feel.
■ Courage isn’t a lack of fear, but dealing with your fear.
■ First time is always frightening. Willingness to get up again after you fall.
Explore the unknown and do what you aren’t sure is possible.
■ When you know what to do, and you do it.
■ Can train courage, just like training muscles.
■ Comfort zone expands each time you do that.
■ Once we can see our fears, the death of the fear becomes certain.
■ Do the things that scare you. Courage is what comes after.
○ The Battle Within
■ Coming to terms with that inner part of yourself that you think is bigger than
you.
■ What is outside is a re�ection of what’s inside. That you’ve chosen your
monsters.
● Star wars, when Luke goes into the cave.
● We want to feel that we are good, so we don’t �nd the negative
without ourself, but somewhere out there. But we each have good
and evil inside of us
● If we can overcome the fear about what we might achieve, all kinds
of things open up.
■ Loving your dragon.
● More e�cient
● Feels a lot better.
● Whatever the dragon was hoarding, they step away and give it to
you
● When you stop �ghting yourself, you’re not engaged in the �ght, but
you’re open to what might come to you.
● Souls journey is about facing fear and going beyond. As we
overcome our fears, we gain power.
○ Cognitive dissonance
■ Surrender. Stop �ghting it.
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■ Every minus, is half of a plus, waiting for a stroke of vertical awareness.
Yeah, you’ve had a negative. What awareness can you add to it so that you
get a far bigger picture that helps you master it.
■ Love and accept yourself as you are. That lines you up directly with the
universe. As the gap between your unlovable self, and your ability to love
your unlovable self, heals, you gain an awesome power
● The Return: Bringing It Back
○ What the hero brings back is a story.
■ The giving of the story is the invitation for others to make the same journey.
■ The way to close the circle is to come back, return with something di�erent
then you started and to share that.
■ Ultimate end isn’t slaying the dragon, but giving back.
■ We think of time as linear. Hero’s journey says no, it’s not linear. You end up
right back where you were. Always end up right back where you are.
■ How can I make a di�erent, and who can I make a di�erence to and for.
○ We owe it to everybody who wants to be what we are when we grow up.
○ If you speak through your life, and your life is the story, then you’ll change lives.
■ My story, which is also my truth, may have an e�ect on you. And therefore,
I’m taking the internal and making it external, and sharing experience.
○ No matter how long you get to live. Life is ultimately very short. And we will all be
dust. And all that matters is how big we showed up, and how courageous we
were. When we are on our deathbeds, what �lls our life with regret are all the risks
we didn’t take and all the opportunities we didn’t seize.
○ We all have it in us to think to ourselves, I can’t give up.
■ That choice to not give up, is a story you are telling yourself, that makes
you feel immortal. Like you can overcome anything. That makes you feel
transcendent. And that’s all we got.
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