Max Out

According to Walter Mischel, one of the world`s leading willpower researchers, playing offense is the best strategy for maximizing your willpower to follow through on your goals. In this video, I share 2 pre-commitment strategies that will allow you to unleash more of your potential: Positive environments and "If, then" statements

Today I am joined by not just one, but two very special guests: With me in the studio is my amazing friend Tâmara, who is a huge fan of our guest joining us from Brazil, Clóvis de Barros. Clóvis is a professor of communication at the University of Sao Paulo, and an internationally renowned expert on communication, ethics, and happiness. His TedX talk on happiness in the here and now has gained him not only a standing ovation but almost 2 million views online, and once you see his energy and enthusiasm, you`ll know why. If you want to be happy in life, this is an absolute MUST-WATCH!

Max Out Insights:

You are happy when your mind is completely occupied by the present moment and does not seek to be anywhere else

Perfection in our craft (whether washing dishes or doing our most precious work) gives immense joy to us

Happiness is useless, meaning it does not need to have utility beyond making you happy. However, as an added benefit, research has shown that it also makes you more productive, healthy, and successful

The fear of death follows us all the time, so one of the tasks of life is to reduce or even eliminate this fear

Being a good person helps you be happy, but is not enough to be happy

Max Out Quotes:

“Our life is the here and now. It`s not in the past. The past is just a question of spiritual remembering. And the future is also a mind-production, but nothing exists in the past or the future, so life is here and now. And here and now, life can be happy.”

“Most of the things you look for are absolutely useless for your happiness.”

“Happiness is the end of the line. It has value in itself. It doesn`t require anything else to be useful.”

“Most parts of your life you choose, and for you to choose properly you have to have in mind the kind of life you want to live.”

“Within the limits of our own nature, we can do the best we can. That is excellence”

There are both moral and spiritual values necessary for living a good and happy life

“The value of my life is your smile.”

#54: The Power Of Scheduling Your Life by Max Weigand

People tend to step into the stories you create for them. The best leaders, friends, team mates, and loved one are the ones that see a version of ourselves that we can`t even see and constantly affirm that to you. What kind of story have you created around the people around you? One of lack and frustration, or one of unlimited possibilities?

The most common path to misery is found in our attachment to believing that some event in the future will finally make us happy. By prioritizing happiness today, we can learn to engineer moments of joy, love, gratitude, and bliss into our lives on a daily basis instead of having to wait for "one day".

On this episode I am joined by not just one, but two special guests: With me in my studio was my buddy Leandro (in fact many of my videos are inspired by our endless discussions on philosophy and living a good life!), who had a little fanboy moment because we got to chat with one of his long-time heroes, Brad Warner. Brad is the founder of the Soto Zen Meditation Center in LA as well as a punk rocker, ordained monk, and creator of monster movies. He is also the author of Hardcore Zen and many other books on Zen practice, monsters, and death, so we had a great time diving deep into sitting still and doing nothing!

Max Out Insights:

A committed spiritual practice is like putting yourself in jail - you give up your freedom to acquire discipline

Emotional states are like the weather - they come and go all the time. When you stop attaching to and owning your emotions, they lose their control over you

What makes happiness go away is trying to hold onto it

The pursuit of enlightenment has no finish line

Sports and music can be a great substitute for meditation to get into the present moment

It`s the attachment to outcomes that causes much of human suffering

Instead of arguing to win, argue to find the truth. That way, losing is actually a good thing because it means you learnt a new/better perspective

Your reason for meditation is the thing that makes you sit down, but once you do sit down you need to let go of that

Zazen is good for nothing - you`re not trying to do something with it, just be present and do what you do completely

Often, people become more stressed through meditation because it makes the darker parts of your mind reveal themselves. This is a natural process of diving deeper into your own psyche, but can be difficult to handle when it comes as a surprise

Society makes us believe that we need to be happy all the time, which makes us avoid pain, sadness, and suffering

When you limit your access to distraction, you free up your time and energy to focus on the things that matter

Suffering is often connected with the sense of self: “I am bad/useless/incapable etc.”

Question all your beliefs and judgements in regards to yourself and others

Max Out Quotes:

“If you want to have a happy life, you have to establish some kind of discipline. If you have too much of what people call freedom, life becomes chaotic.”

“When people realize that the thing they`re attached to is an illusion, they often freak out and stop the practice.”

“You can`t contribute to the world if you`re not balanced yourself.”

“Just try to make a small difference.”

“Do the thing you`re doing, but don`t concern yourself with the outcomes. Do it as purely as possible.”

#50: How to Create Lasting Personal Transformations by Max Weigand

#49: Why Happiness Leads to Success (According to Science) by Max Weigand

Ryan Munsey is the host of the Better Human Project and author of Fuck Your Feelings. As a world-renowned speaker and consultant, Ryan works with some of the world`s highest achievers to unlock their potential, so we took a deep dive into mastering your mind, achieving success, and becoming a better human being!

Max Out Insights:

The choice to quit is always there, but it`s in overcoming it that we gain strength and self-respect

There are little character tests every day that reveal to us who we are. Daily micro decisions add up.

Feelings are physiological experiences of mental states.

According to world-leading researcher Antonio Damasio, 95% of decisions are based on emotions

Figuring out your values is one of the most important choices in your life

Changing your body is a fantastic gateway to changing the mind

Music is a powerful tool to take charge of your mental and emotional state

Max Out Quotes:

“Confidence is the ability to trust yourself.”

“Every strength comes from what was once a deficit.”

#47: The Fastest Way to Overcome Procrastination by Max Weigand