OPTIMIZE with Brian Johnson | More Wisdom in Less Time

"As a Man Thinketh" by James Allen might just win the most densely packed with wisdom award and in this PN TV episode we'll have fun looking a few of my favorite Big Ideas on how we can shape our minds our create our ideal lives. Hope you enjoy!

Joseph Campbell rocks and in this PN TV episode we'll have fun looking at how to embrace our hero's journey, shed some skin and jump into our Highest Selves as we explore some of my favorite Big Ideas from "A Joseph Campbell Companion"! Hope you dig it. :)

Why is it that IQ isn't that highly correlated with success? Because "Emotional Intelligence" plays a *huge* role! In this PN TV episode we'll explore some Big Ideas on how to rock our EQ from Daniel Goleman's classic. Hope you dig it! :)

Tony Horton. If you've done P90X then you both LOVE him and you hate him (for kicking your butt!). Hah! Tony brings the same energy and laughs to this great book featuring his 11 Laws for rockin' it. In the Note, we'll have fun looking at the voices in his head, where he came up with his classic "Do your best and forget the rest!" and other goodness!

Cal Newport is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Dartmouth who went on to MIT for his Ph.D. and is now a Professor at Georgetown. In this book, Cal shares the top ideas he gleaned from interviews with non-grind Phi Beta Kappa members at elite schools across the country. They had to perform well AND they had to achieve those results without grinding away. Their practices, although discovered independently, reflect the same wisdom shared in the science books. It’s great to see the overlap.

If you’ve ever had stress in your life (hah!) and wondered how to deal with it more optimally, I think you’ll love this. McGonigal tells us that how we THINK about stress plays a huge role in its affect on us and walks us thru the science behind it. Rather than try to get rid of stress (good luck with that!), we’re much better off shifting our mindsets to embrace and use the stress wisely!

Adam Grant is one of the world’s leading management thinkers and the top-ranked Professor at Wharton. He’s also a great writer. In Originals, we take a look at "How Non-Conformists Move the World."

Michael Phelps is the most decorated Olympian in history and arguably the greatest athlete ever. This book is a quick look at 8 virtues that led to his 8 gold medals in '08. Big Ideas we explore include how to train your mind, going all in, knowing what's important now (aka W.I.N.), and not confusing "can't" vs. "won't."

Ryan Holiday is brilliant. So is this book. The ancient Stoics taught us how to not only accept challenges but to thrive on them. Ryan brings their wisdom to life with compelling stories of great peeps who have rocked it in the face of adversity. In the Note we'll take a quick look at the three keys to making obstacles work for us: Perception + Action + Will.

Motivation and Personality by Abraham Maslow. Here's a look at some of my favorite Big Ideas from the dood who occupies the Great-Grandfather slot in my Spiritual Family tree: Abraham Maslow. He came up with the idea of "self-actualizing" and the hierarchy of needs and we chat about all that and more in this episode of PhilosophersNotes TV. Hope you enjoy! :)