You Are Heroic with Brian Johnson

Got a vision board? Here are two big reasons why it might suck! -0

Dan Coyle tells us that greatness isn't born. It's grown. In The Talent Code + The Little Book of Talent, he shows us how. Join us as we explore some Big Ideas on how to get your greatness on as you grow your myelin and ignite your potential.

Tal Ben-Shahar gives us a handy-dandy model on how to be happier by embracing goals that we deem valuable while enjoying the journey. Here's to the happiness archetype!

Steven Kotler is one of the world's leading experts on the science of flow--the secret sauce to optimizing our lives and actualizing our potential. Join us as we talk about some of my favorite Big Ideas on how to Rise like Superman.

Hint - It's with yourself! :)

Todd Henry tells us that history's most impactful humans all had a unique, powerful, authentic voice. This book is all about helping us harness the power of OUR authentic voice. Three keys: Identity + Vision + Mastery. And, we've gotta learn how to own the Big U as we run our own race, have fun in monk mode and practice action + patience.

It's time to strengthen ourselves and move from being fragile to being robust to being antifragile. As Nassim Taleb tells us - 'Wind extinguishes a candle and energizes the fire.'

Tom Morris literally wrote the book on Philosophy for Dummies. A double Ph.D. from Yale (Philosophy + Religious Studies), he taught at Notre Dame and has been a professional, public philosopher for decades. Let's apply wisdom to our own lives!

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

Want to get so good they can't ignore you? (Me, too.) Cal Newport tells us we need to shift from a passion mindset to a CRAFTSMAN mindset as we become true masters of our craft and create a ton of value in the world. We do *that* and we'll accumulate what Cal calls "career capital" that we can cash in for the ideal set up. Another Big Idea: Figure out how you can deliberately practice! (

Jason Selk is one of the world's leading peak performance experts. His tagline? "The relentless pursuit of greatness." If that appeals to you, you'll love this book. It's *fantastic*! Big Ideas we explore include the difference between Process and Product Goals, a 100-second mental training workout, why your self-image matters and the REMARKABLE benefits of writing down your goals.

Tool #1: We need to reverse our relationship with fear. Rather than avoid pain, we need to lean into it--KNOWING that our infinite potential exists outside our comfort zone on the other side of our fear.

The Tools. This was easily the best book I read in 2012. It's *packed* with goodness. Stutz and Michels are two no-nonsense therapists who developed powerful tools to transform our problems into courage, confidence, and creativity. In this Note, we'll take a quick peek at how to put these powerful tools to work to creat real change in our lives.

The Rise of Superman. What an awesome title and vision. Steven Kotler is one of the world’s leading authorities on the science of flow. He created the Flow Genome Project that is all about “decoding the peak performance state of flow.” (

The Tools. This was easily the best book I read in 2012. It's *packed* with goodness. Stutz and Michels are two no-nonsense therapists who developed powerful tools to transform our problems into courage, confidence, and creativity. In this Note, we'll take a quick peek at how to put these powerful tools to work to create real change in our lives.

Ronday Rousey knows how to make the obstacle the way/turn poison into medicine. How do you respond when something goes wrong? Here's to being anti-fragile

Are you a perfectionist? Well... How's that working for you? If you're ready to shift to a more effective mode of showing up I think you'll enjoy this chat with Stephen Guise about his new book How to Be an Imperfectionist.

Todd Henry tells us that history’s most impactful humans all had a unique, powerful, authentic voice. This book is all about helping us harness the power of OUR authentic voice. Three keys: Identity + Vision + Mastery. And, we’ve gotta learn how to own the Big U as we run our own race, have fun in monk mode and practice action + patience.

Goals. They're super important. But not all goals are created equally. Here are my Top 10 tips on how to set goals that will actually make you happy! -)

Steve Chandler tells us “There is bad and there is good . . . And then there is crazy good." And, our path to living a crazy-good life is simple. It's all about CHOICES. As with all of Steve's books, this one is packed with wisdom. Big Ideas we cover include The 5% Solution, Systems vs. Dreams, Game vs. Shame, and making life an experiment.

You want to develop *true* confidence? Scientists like Heidi Grant Halvorson tell us we need to have confidence in our ability to achieve our goals *and* in the fact that we will face challenges on the way. Here's a quick look at how to rock it!

Gabriel Oettingen is one of the world's leading researchers in "The New Science of Motivation." The basic idea of the book is captured in a clever image on the cover: Rose colored glasses with one lens cracked. Oettingen walks us thru the compelling research that demonstrates the power of seeing both the positive AND the challenges. When we contrast our wishes with the obstacles to their attainment we, almost magically, catalyze an extraordinarily higher level of performance.

Did you know exercise is as effective as Zoloft in reducing depression? Yep. Experts say *not* exercising is like taking a depressant. Here's to getting our exercise on!! -)

Dan Millman (author of Way of the Peaceful Warrior and other great books) introduced me to David Reynolds's great book Constructive Living years ago as he's been deeply influenced by David's integration of Zen Buddhism and Western Psychotherapy. I like to say it's the best book you've (likely) never heard of. Join David and I for a chat about some of my favorite Big Ideas on how to live with greater self-mastery by more effectively relating to our emotions and consistently asking ourselves: "Now what needs to be done?!"

Da Vinci tells us one can have no greater mastery than mastery of oneself. Scientists agree. Self-control is the greatest predictor of all things good. Here's a powerful practice to gain mastery and rock it!

You have any impulsive behaviors you'd like to cool off? (If you're human, the answer is yes.) Then If-Then planning for hot spots is for you!

Spiritual indigestion. It comes from a lot of studying and not a lot of applying. The solution is simple - move from theory to practice by LIVING your truths! -)

Test: "I'll give you two marshmallows if you wait 20 minutes or you can have one now." How pre-schoolers responded to that predicted their SAT scores at 16, their BMI at 30 and brain health at 50. (WOW.)

It's time to quit *pursuing* happiness and *practice* it!!

Tom Morris tells us we can either make our life a tent or a tower. If we're going the tower route, we want to pay attention to the foundation.

Do you have big problem in your life? Hate to break it to you but all that means is that you're being a small person!

Be quick!! But don't hurry. John Wooden repeated that all.the.time to his players in every.single.practice. We need to live with intensity (!), fully showing up and playing at the edge of our abilities WHILE staying centered. Andy Hill walks us through how he learned how to do that playing under Wooden during their dynasty days.

Fact - We already know. The question is - do we have the courage to trust ourselves and follow our own wisdom? Here are a few exercises and questions to help you tap into your inner wisdom and develop your intuition!

There's a sweet spot between your comfort zone and your survival zone. That's where we want to hang out as we deliberately practice and move to mastery.

Abraham Maslow tells us that in any given moment we can either step forward into growth or back into safety. +1 or -1. +1 or -1. Here's why those decisions matter and how you can rock it!!

Tim Sanders is awesome. He was the Chief Solutions Officer for Yahoo! back in the day and wrote the uber-cool book Love Is the Killer App. In this interview, we’ll learn how to be truly rich via powerful daily practices as we become healthy-thought nuts and POETs who practice persistence. Fun!

Want to optimize your life? Try this simple exercise to identify the top things you could *start* doing and *stop* doing that will lead to the most positive impact in your life!!

Did you know there’s an equation for Procrastination? Yep. Expectancy x Value / Impulsiveness x Delay = Motivation. Thank you, Piers Steel. In this great book, Piers (a leading researcher on the science of motivation/procrastination) walks us thru the power of that equation. Big Ideas we explore include: Mental Contrasting (and why it beats creative visualization), goal setting (3 scientific keys) and how to add a month of productivity to your year.

Want to figure out your mission in life? Here are 5 Big Ideas + 5 journal questions + 5 tips to help you rock it!!!

In The Talent Code, Dan Coyle introduced us to the power of myelin and its role in creating world-class performance. In The Little Book of Talent, he shares 52 uber-practical tips on how to improve our skills. Big Ideas we explore include how to actually deliberately practice (hint: find your sweet spot), the most important skill (hint: get good at actually practicing), playing mental movies, adopting a blue collar mind set and thinking like a gardener while acting like a carpenter.

Willpower. It's the queen of all virtues--the greatest predictor of health, happiness, wealth and all other good things. Here are 10 tips on how to build *your* willpower!!

Want to catalyze your motivation + goal attainment? Get your WOOP on! Wish + Outcome + Obstacle + Plan = magic.

Gratitude, as we know, is huge. Here's another really powerful exercise to flex your appreciation muscles and train yourself to see what's working in your life!!

Barbara Oakley teaches one of the largest classes in HISTORY called "Learning How to Learn." (Over 1 million students!) She also wrote the great book, "A Mind for Numbers." Join us as we explore some of my favorite Big Ideas.

Equanimity. The word means 'balanced mind.' (Love that!) Here's how to recover your equanimity when life challenges you!!

Hal Elrod is an inspiring guy. Want to wake up every morning fired up to make today another masterpiece? Then it's time to make your mornings miraculous and Hal shows us how with his Life S.A.V.E.R.S. Join us as we discuss his great book The Miracle Morning.

I'm excited to share some of my favorite super productivity tips. Here's my #1 practice: If it takes -2 minutes, 1-touch it!!

Michael J. Gelb is a pioneer in the fields of creative thinking, accelerated learning, and innovative leadership and author of the bestselling How To Think Like Leonardo da Vinci and Brain Power.

Tired of being a perfectionist? Here are some ideas on how to shift out of that debilitating mindset and become an optimalist!! :)

Gabriel Oettingen is one of the world’s leading researchers in “The New Science of Motivation.” The basic idea of the book is captured in a clever image on the cover: Rose colored glasses with one lens cracked. Oettingen walks us thru the compelling research that demonstrates the power of seeing both the positive AND the challenges. When we contrast our wishes with the obstacles to their attainment we, almost magically, catalyze an extraordinarily higher level of performance.