You Are Heroic with Brian Johnson

This is our third Note on (Mister) Fred Rogers' books. I read all three over the course of a week after falling in love with the man via the wonderful documentary Won't You Be My Neighbor? This book, as per the sub-title, is all about "Wisdom for Parents and Children from Mister Rogers." Like the other books we've featured, it's a super quick-reading and equally inspiring collection of brief wisdom gems from our beloved neighbor. I loved it. And, I've been enjoying channeling Mister Rogers' warmth and presence and wisdom in my role as a father to our two little E's: Emerson (6 as I type this) and Eleanor (2!). Big Ideas we explore include how to deal with disappointment (big and small!), growing (kids AND parents), the complexity of being a parent, setting limits and the power of saying, "I'm sorry."

Optimize: https://optimize.me/ (Get Free Stuff + Free 2-Week Trial!) Optimize Coach: https://optimize.me/coach (Join 2,000+ Optimizers from 70+ Countries!) Here are 5 of my favorite Big Ideas from The World According to Mister Rogers by Fred Rogers. Hope you enjoy! Did you know that Fred Rogers was an ordained Presbyterian minister who was given the unique charge of working with children and families through television? Yep. Since watching the documentary Won't You Be My Neighbor?, I've fallen in love with the man and his "relentless commitment to all that is best in people." This is a quick-reading collection of some of Fred's best wisdom gems gathered from various sources and organized by different themes. Big Ideas we explore include: Your eulogy (in three words!), an enraged Mister Rogers (= fierce love in action), a barrelful of songs (your barrel overflowing?), swimming with Fred (143!!), and making goodness attractive (remember our #1 job: ENCOURAGE others!!). Get The World According to Mister Rogers on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1401301061 Learn more about Fred Rogers: https://www.optimize.me/authors/fred-rogers/ ► RELATED RESOURCES: Big Idea 1: YOUR EULOGY - +1: Eulogy Virtues | How to Chisel on Your Road to Character (#212) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/eulogy-virtues/ - Mastery Series Module O: Optimize = Optimus = Best = Eudaimōn = Hērō → https://optimize.me/coach-module-o/ Big Idea 2: ENRAGED MR. ROGERS - +1: An Enraged Mister Rogers | Channeling His Fierce Love (#825) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/an-enraged-mister-rogers/ - Fred Rogers testifies before the Senate Subcommittee on Communications → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKy7ljRr0AA Big Idea 3: BARRELS FULL - +1: A Barrelful of Songs | Is Your Barrel Overflowing with Goodness? (#828) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/a-barrelful-of-songs/ - +1: Be So Good They Can't Ignore You | Origin Stories Featuring Cal Newport + Steve Martin (#1282) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/be-so-good-they-cant-ignore-you/ - +1: 50 Pounds = A | How to Master the Fear of Art (#85) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/50-pounds-a/ Big Idea 4: 143 = I LOVE YOU - +1: Swimming with Mister Rogers | Then Stepping on the Scale to See… 143! (#830) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/swimming-with-mister-rogers/ - +1: Hērōs | Building Strength for 2 (#107) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/heros/ Big Idea 5: 10 SECONDS - Fred Rogers Accepts the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 24th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Upm9LnuCBUM - PN: Gratitude Works! by Robert A. Emmons → https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/gratitude-works-robert-emmons/ ► FREE 14-DAY TRIAL: Get the PhilosophersNote on The World According to Mister Rogers and 600+ other books by starting a Free 14-Day trial membership to Optimize: https://www.optimize.me/trial/ ► MORE GOODNESS: - Get the Optimize App for iPhone & iPad: https://www.optimize.me/apps/ - Get the Optimize App for Android: https://www.optimize.me/apps/ - Subscribe to the Optimize Podcast: https://optimize.me/podcast/ - Follow Optimize on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BriantheOptimizer/ - Follow Optimize on Instagram: https://instagram.com/optimize.me/

Here are my Top 3 ANCIENT WISDOM Books of All Time: #1: The Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle #2: Discourses and Selected Writings by Epictetus #3: The Bhagavad Gita by Eknath Easwaran More on why + a Big-Idea from each of those books in this video: https://youtu.be/eHMnL7MCMrs

Optimize: https://optimize.me/ (← Get Free Stuff + Free 2-Week Trial!) Optimize Coach: https://optimize.me/coach (← Join 2,000+ Optimizers from 70+ Countries!) Here are 5 of my favorite Big Ideas from You Are Special by Fred Rogers. Hope you enjoy! I got this book after watching the wonderful (!) documentary on Mister Rogers called Won't You Be My Neighbor? It's a collection of wisdom gems from various sources-a quick-reading portal into Mister Rogers' brain that has an amazingly calming, uplifting effect. (At least it did for me.) Simply reading his words seemed to elevate my consciousness and make me a kinder, more patient person. Big Ideas we explore include: Be the best at whatever you are, our #1 Job in life (hint: Encourage others!!), I Like You (just the way you are), being a living example, Mister Rogers' creativity (hello, torture!), perfect parents/kids? (nope!), and the gap (the essence of human creativity). Get You Are Special on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0140235140 Learn more about Fred Rogers: https://www.optimize.me/authors/fred-rogers/ ► RELATED RESOURCES: Big Idea 1: BE THE BEST YOU - +1: Envy: The Ulcer of the Soul | Socrates Says (And Science Agrees) (#852) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/envy-the-ulcer-of-the-soul/ - +1: The Comparison Game | You Will Always Lose It (Here's Why) (#855) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/the-comparison-game/ - +1: Sweeping Streets with Martin Luther King | Like Shakespeare, Beethoven and Michelangelo (#492) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/sweeping-streets-with-martin-luther-king/ Big Idea 2: OUR JOB IN LIFE - +1: Encourage | To Inspire with Hope, Courage and Confidence (#721) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/encourage/ - Admiral William McRaven → https://www.optimize.me/authors/admiral-william-h-mcraven/ Big Idea 3: "I LIKE YOU." - +1: I Like You | Just the Way You Are (#869) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/i-like-you/ - Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood in black and white → https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2r4wun Big Idea 4: TORTURES - Won't You Be My Neighbor? (Documentary) → https://www.focusfeatures.com/wont-you-be-my-neighbor/ Big Idea 5: LIVING EXAMPLE - PN: Your Life is Your Message by Eknath Easwaran → https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/your-life-is-your-message-eknath-easwaran/ - +1: Gandhi and Sugar | And You and… _______________ (#408) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/gandhi-and-sugar/ - +1: There Are No Perfect People | And… Newsflash: You Will Not Be the First (#146) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/there-are-no-perfect-people/ ► FREE 14-DAY TRIAL: Get the PhilosophersNote on The World According to Mister Rogers and 600+ other books by starting a Free 14-Day trial membership to Optimize: https://www.optimize.me/trial/ ► MORE GOODNESS: - Get the Optimize App for iPhone & iPad: https://www.optimize.me/apps/ - Get the Optimize App for Android: https://www.optimize.me/apps/ - Subscribe to the Optimize Podcast: https://optimize.me/podcast/ - Follow Optimize on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BriantheOptimizer/ - Follow Optimize on Instagram: https://instagram.com/optimize.me/

Optimize: https://optimize.me/ (← Get Free Stuff + Free 2-Week Trial!) Optimize Coach: https://optimize.me/coach (← Join 2,000+ Optimizers from 70+ Countries!) Here are 5 of my favorite Big Ideas from The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell. Hope you enjoy! Joseph Campbell was an American author and teacher best known for his work in the field of comparative mythology. If you've ever heard of the "Hero's Journey," you have him and his lifelong commitment to studying mythology to thank. This book (written in 1949) is the one that captures the essence of his thoughts on the "monomyth" that shows up across all cultures. One universal hero. A thousand faces. Big Ideas we explore include: a quick look at the hero's journey, moving past the veil of the unknown (aka romancing your discomfort zone) while creating micro hero journeys (all day every day), your ultimate boon (don't make King Midas's mistake), the mistake that the makers of legend made (growth mindset, guys!!), and a portrait of the modern hero (look in the mirror!). Get The Hero with a Thousand Faces on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Thousand-Faces-Collected-Joseph-Campbell/dp/1577315936 Learn more about Joseph Campbell: https://www.optimize.me/authors/joseph-campbell/ ► RELATED RESOURCES: Big Idea 1: THE MONOMYTH - Finding Joe documentary → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8nFACrLxr0 - +1: Hērōs | Building Strength for 2 (#107) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/heros/ Big Idea 2: THE THRESHOLD - +1: Your Infinite Potential | And Where to Find It (#4) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/your-infinite-potential/ - David Goggins → https://www.optimize.me/authors/david-goggins/ - Marie Forleo → https://www.optimize.me/authors/marie-forleo/ - George Mumford → https://www.optimize.me/authors/george-mumford/ - PN: The Rise of Superman by Steven Kotler → https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-rise-of-superman-steven-kotler/ - +1: Making the Impossible Possible | How to Make It What's for Breakfast in X Tomorrows (#587) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/making-the-impossible-possible/ - Optimize Coach: Program Overview → https://optimize.me/coach-program/ Big Idea 3: THE BOON - +1: The Choice of Hercules | Vice Dressed up as Virtue (#1036) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/the-choice-of-hercules/ Big Idea 4: THE MAKERS OF LEGEND - +1: How to Build Your Grit | The 4 Key Scientific Variables (#19) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/how-to-build-your-grit/ - PN: Grit by Angela Duckworth → https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/grit-angela-duckworth/ - +1: What Shakespeare, Beethoven & Picasso Have in Common | Want to Create Something Great? Create a Ton. (#86) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/what-shakespeare-beethoven-picasso-have-in-common/ Big Idea 5: THE HERO = YOU - +1: Optimize = Optimus | = The Best Version of You (#367) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/optimize-optimus/ ► FREE 14-DAY TRIAL: Get the PhilosophersNote on The World According to Mister Rogers and 600+ other books by starting a Free 14-Day trial membership to Optimize: https://www.optimize.me/trial/ ► MORE GOODNESS: - Get the Optimize App for iPhone & iPad: https://www.optimize.me/apps/ - Get the Optimize App for Android: https://www.optimize.me/apps/ - Subscribe to the Optimize Podcast: https://optimize.me/podcast/ - Follow Optimize on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BriantheOptimizer/ - Follow Optimize on Instagram: https://instagram.com/optimize.me/

Here are my Top 3 HABITS Books of All Time: #1: Tiny Habits by BJ Fogg #2: Atomic Habits by James Clear #3: The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy LISTEN for More on why + a Big-Idea from each of those books!

Here are my Top 3 BEST Books of All Time: #1: The Tools by Phil Stutz and Barry Michels #2: Deep Work by Cal Newport #3: Happy Together by Suzie and James Pawelski LISTEN for More on why + a Big-Idea from each of those books!

One of my favorite parts about creating our Optimize Mastery Series is that it forced me to go to the next level of clarity on the most important aspects of our Optimize philosophy. This was true from Day 1 of the program and I found it to be especially powerful with our Eating Fundamental (which is day 200-something!) in which I integrated the wisdom from dozens of books and our Optimal Nutrition 101 and Optimal Metabolism 101 classes into what I called our Optimize Food Rules. Of course, join Optimize Coach and check out that session for the full download. Today we're going to take a quick look at our Big 3 (+1!) Optimize Food Rules. Here we go… Rule #1: Quit Drinking Your Sugar. This is inspired by a number of great teachers (including Robert Lustig in Fat Chance and John Ratey in Go Wild) but Mark Hyman brought the point home powerfully as his #1 rec in Food Fix. Note: If you're currently drinking sodas or fruit juices or any liquid with sugar, this is arguably THE fastest and easiest way to take your nutrition to the next level—and, as a by-product, take huge steps forward in Optimizing your metabolism ("Hi, insulin!") so you can move to your optimal weight. (Note: I just had a flashback of the Science Says data we collected. One of the highlights was how many Optimizers now feel they can easily follow their nutritional philosophy and maintain their Optimal weight.) (Check out the sketch on it below.) So… Are YOU drinking your sugar? If so, STOP!! (Hah. Seriously.) Note: Soda is obviously not a health food but… Parents: Fruit juice is NOT a health food either. Rule #2: Eat Real Food and Throw Out the Factory Food. In the Mastery Series session, we discuss the fact that we want to get rid of three different types of Factory Food including: Factory-made ultraprocessed carbage with ingredients you can't pronounce, don't have in your pantry and didn't evolve to consume; Factory-farmed animals for ethical, health and environmental reasons; and, Factory fat including vegetable oils like soybean, safflower, corn, and canola oils—none of which existed pre-Industrial revolution and all of which disrupt our Omega 3:6 ratios and create inflammation. (Note: Socrates was all about the olive oil—that's been around for over 5,000 years!) Quick check in: How are you doing there? Rule #3: Eating Sunsets (Aka: Give Yourself the Night Off!) Let your glymph get to work by restricting your eating to a window that gives you AT LEAST 13 hours between your last meal and first meal. We explore some fascinating research on cancer, etc. As you know if you've been following along, we have a last-input "digital sunset." I say we need a last-input "eating sunset"!! In fact, science says: We want to eat AT LEAST two hours before we go to bed and target FOUR hours before we go to bed if we're playing the Professional Optimizing game. (It's crazy for me to see the resting heart rate and heart rate variability data on my Oura ring show me the difference when I play in too short of an eating window!) So… When was your last meal last night? When was your first meal Today? How many hours were there in between? Let's get to 13+ and know that if you have a hard time going that long between meals, it's probably because we need to work on some metabolic flexibility issues. See Rules #1 and #2 for support there. And, finally, my favorite Rule… Rule +1: Eat Like Your Favorite Philosopher (who lived at least 300 years ago). Perhaps the simplest, wisest advice is to simply eat like your great-great-great-great-great-great-grandparents ate before all the factories. I like to tweak that a bit to have fun helping you channel your favorite philosopher or spiritual teacher—whether that's Jesus or Mohammed or Moses or Buddha or Lao Tzu. For me? It's Epictetus. Guess what? Our favorite old-school Philosophers didn't (and couldn't) drink their sugar because it didn't exist. And all they could eat was non-factory produced food because factories didn't exist yet. And they couldn't eat all day every day because that wonderful invention we call the fridge didn't exist. There ya go. The Optimize Food Rules in a nutshell. Here's to changing our lives (and our families' lives) one bite at a time. TODAY.