Core Wisdom

Great lives are created one great day at a time. Which is why this class is a key component to rockin’ it. Step 1: Make TODAY the day. Know what your ideal days look like (we’ll help you figure it out), set clear targets, make progress while you make waves, control the kryptonite, create AM + PM bookends, remember the Deep Work + Deep Love blocks and iterate, iterate, iterate.

Aristotle tells us: “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence is not an act but a HABIT.” It’s not about living at your best every once in a while. It’s about rockin’ it day in and day out. Making it who you are. A habit. That’s what this class is all about. We’ll help you identify and install your #1 keystone habit while learning how to tap into your superpowers and create habits that will change your life.

Breathing. It’s easy to take for granted but when you stop to think about it, it quickly becomes obvious just how powerful it is. Get this: You can live for weeks without food and days without water but, of course, only minutes without oxygen. Plus: Your brain uses 20% of the oxygen you consume while breathing is responsible for 70% (!) of your body’s detoxification. Yet… If you’re like most people, you’re probably doing this simple, should-be-easy fundamental wrong. In this class, we’ll look at why CO2 is (somewhat paradoxically!) actually the variable we want to be Optimizing if we want to get the O2 out of our hemoglobin and into our cells. Then we’ll look at the Three Rules for breathing perfectly as we Optimize your breathing for calm, focused energy.

We start by stepping back and looking at what I call the “True You” which is a combo of “Optimus You” + “en*theos You” which = “Hērō You.” Then we have fun SEEing that best, most heroic and plugged-in version of you (via a mirror exercise and Michelangelo assist) and, most importantly, BEing that version of you (via 3 D’s, an A and two T’s). Then we create a game to put the new you into action by WOOPing your WIG and WINning while creating Antifragile Confidence + Buoyancy (science says = Levity + Gravity) while rocking our affirmations and affirmaction and remembering Other Image 101 as well.

Willpower is the queen of all virtues. It outpredicts IQ by a factor of TWO for academic performance (and everything else we want in life). This class is all about the science of how to systematically build our willpower so we can reach our highest potential.

You can be fragile, robust or antifragile. Do you break when you get hit by life? Or are you kinda resilient? Or… Are you antifragile—do you actually get STRONGER the more life kicks you around?! Learn how to get comfortable being uncomfortable as you step into your infinite potential and use *everything* to fuel your heroic growth.

I created 25 classes before we got to money/wealth/etc. That was deliberate. (Virtue for the win!) And… It was fun to create this class and share my thoughts on how to create true wealth. First idea? We’ve gotta remember that the Ultimate Currency/the reason we do *anything* is to be Happy. Therefore, we want to run our pursuit of material abundance through that lens. Then we talk about how to become psychologically wealthy (billionaires, baby!) (and look at how to Optimize your balance sheet), redefine economics from a spiritual plane and then… We talk about how to make and enjoy some more money. The theme? Wealth thru Profound Service. We talk about investing in the best stock on the market: You, Inc. And, we integrate Cal Newport’s Passion + Craftsman mindsets with what I call a “Servant” mindset for a new hedgehog-like concept plus we look at Ray Dalio’s 5 Steps to Getting What You Want in Life model—which is super powerful, kinda like WOOP by an uber-practical genius. Plus some other goodness I hope you enjoy!

“Algorithm.” Yuval Noah Harari tells us that it is the most important concept of the 21st century and that “we should make every effort to understand what an algorithm is, and how algorithms are connected with emotions.” Ray Dalio echoes this perspective and tells us that algorithms will be the most important language for us (and our kids) to learn. Psychologists have been talking about algorithms for awhile as well. They call them “if-then implementation intentions”—which are the secret sauce to using your willpower wisely to install habits that run on autopilot. In this class, we tie that all together and then talk about some practical ways to apply that wisdom to our lives so we can program ourselves wisely and have fun seeing just how awesome we can make our lives. 🤓

I created this class after my friend Matt McCall (who helps run the Pritzker Group Venture Capital fund) asked me to do a talk for 60 of their portfolio CEOs. He was thinking “Optimizing for Supheroes 101.” I loved that idea and decided it would be the perfect context to share my absolute best stuff and here we are. 🤓 In this extra-long class, we start by connecting “Optimizing” and “Hērō” to their ancient Greek philosophical roots then we proceed to walk thru how to go about integrating ancient wisdom, modern science and practical tools to harness our soul force to build strength for two such that we can create our best, most heroic lives.

We’re going to have a hard time actualizing our potential if we have a hard time getting out of bed. Energy is SUPER important. In fact, it’s the engine for our actualization. In this class, we’ll integrate a lot of the most essential aspects of eating, moving, and sleeping. But first, we’ll start by stepping back and recognizing just how important it is that we flip the switch in our minds—raising our standards and TRULY committing to being our best, most energized selves so we can change the world together, one person at a time, starting with YOU and me.

Seneca. He was born around the same time as Jesus and was one of the leading figures in his Roman Empire. He was also one of history's leading Stoic philosophers (along with Marcus Aurelius and Epictetus who we also profile) and has some powerful wisdom to share. In this Note, we'll explore the purpose of philosophy, the importance of focusing our attention and the mojo that comes from facing our fears.