Heroes!
Michael here. 👋
Happy Sunday.
Did you see the exciting news from Brian this morning about the next-level program to help YOU make 2025 THE absolute best year of your life?!?
Check it out: I need your help! (PLEASE! 🙏) Heroic Elite = You, Activated!! 🔥
Plus the follow up after more than 101 people replied in less than 101 minutes: 101 replies in < 101 minutes = 😳🤯!! 🔥 Let’s go!!
(👆 that 2nd one went out less than 60 minutes ago and we’re ALREADY now approaching 200 responses. 🤯🤯)
If you’re feeling inspired, let us know how we can best help YOU activate YOUR Heroic potential so YOU can show up as YOUR best, most Heroically ELITE self:
FIRED. UP! (🔥)
We also had a big week of Cyber Specials, more Heroic Holidays goodness, jam-packed wisdom, and fun accelerating into December to “run the best at the end” with Jim Collins’ Hedgehog.
Let’s get to it.
Note: Forwarded this email? Sign up for updates and a zero-cost Heroic membership here.
1. Scarcity Brain by Michael Easter
This week’s new Philosopher’s Note is on Scarcity Brain by Michael Easter:
“Things critical to our survival like food, information, influence, possessions, time on earth, what we could do to feel good—and much more—were scarce, hard to find, and short-lived. The people who survived and passed on their genes chased more. They defaulted to overeating, amassing stuff and information, seeking influence over others and their environments, and pursuing pleasure and survival drives to excess. Obeying these evolutionary cravings kept us alive and still makes sense for all species. Except one. …
We now have an abundance—some might say an overload—of the things we’ve evolved to crave. Things like food (especially the salty, fatty, sugary variety), possessions (homes filled with online purchases), information (the internet), mood adjusters (drugs and entertainment), and influence (social media).
Yet we’re still programmed to think and act as if we don’t have enough. As if we’re still in those ancient times of scarcity. That three-pound bundle of nerves in our skull is always scanning the background, picking up and prioritizing scarcity cues and pushing us to consume more. …
The science shows that our scarcity brain doesn’t always make sense in our modern world of abundance. It now often works against us, and outside forces are exploiting it to influence our decisions. It’s at the root of the counterproductive behaviors we can’t seem to shake. The habits that put a hard brake on improving our physical and mental health, happiness, and ability to reach our full potential. Aren’t addiction, obesity, anxiety, chronic diseases, debt, environmental destruction, political dispute, war, and more all driven by our craving for… more?
... The people I met on my journey are asking the more profound and challenging questions. But their efforts are revealing the answers that work. They’ve found that permanent change and lasting satisfaction lie in finding enough. Not too much. Not too little. Some have even flipped the scarcity loop into an ‘abundance loop,’ using the loop to do more of what helps us.”
— Michael Easter from Scarcity Brain
Read or listen to the full Note here!
P.S. This new Philosopher’s Note + 700 others + a TON of other wisdom and tools to support your growth are all part of Heroic Premium.
2. Heroic Elite: You, Activated!
As Brian shared in the email linked above:
“I’m currently OBSESSING (!) about a new program we’re working on that will truly help you make 2025 THE greatest year of your life. Period.
The program is going to be called…
Heroic Elite.
You, Activated!
I am absolutely, fiercely committed to making it THE most powerful, most life-changing thing we’ve ever done for you.
For one VERY simple reason…
There’s NO WAY we will have a shot at fulfilling our Mission to help create a world in which 51% of humanity is flourishing by 2051 unless YOU (YES, YOU!! 🫵!!!) are showing up as the most activated, HEROICALLY ELITE version of yourself. Period.”
Again, check out the full thing here.
And if you feel so inspired, fill out this super-quick survey to let us know your ideas on how we can best help YOU activate YOUR Heroic potential so YOU can show up as YOUR best, most Heroically ELITE self. 🔥
3. Control Your Bookends
Creating masterpiece days starts with optimizing our AM and PM bookends.
In The Compound Effect, Darren Hardy makes the important point that we have more control over the very beginnings of our day and the very ends of our days than we do over the middle of the days.
Those are our AM and PM bookends. Let’s optimize them—today and every day.
- PM FIRST: Today started last night. To start your day feeling energized and ready to rock, make your PM bookend a work of art.
- AM WINS PRE-INPUT: Aim to hit your #1 Targets in Energy, Work, and Love before you enter the world of inputs.
- WAVE THE WAND: If you could wave a wand (within the constraints of reality), what would your optimal PM bookend look like? And your AM?
What’s one thing you’ve been wanting to implement in your AM/PM bookends? Today a good day to begin?!
4. Energy 101
How to give your soul the energy it needs to live your greatest life.
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.
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.
Watch the full Energy 101 master class.
5. Community highlights
A few favorites from another week of moving from Theory to Practice to Mastery, Together!!!
- Vanessa and Tim’s Heroic workshop with high school students: “Words cannot express how amazing it was to hear these students share their WIGs, Hero Bars, Do’s & Dont’s and then PUT IT ALL TOGETHER! I nearly cried listening to Sarah share hers. I am convinced now more than ever that Heroic MUST be part of every curriculum in EVERY school across the globe!”
- Bradley’s inspiringly consistent AM/PM bookends: “Almost two years ago, I started Heroic coaching program class XIV and learned to take small, attainable steps to build habits 🎉 that would make me stronger, more focused, and better prepared for life. Today, these steps have evolved into habits that set me up for a great day, day after day.”
- Levi’s bi-lingual Heroic workshop with youth in South Africa: “I did NOT expect (or prepare) to facilitate this in both English and Afrikaans… But hey, OMMS! 💪 … These teens are great, and I’m so glad to have had the opportunity to help them close the gap between what they’ve achieved, their goals, and their behaviors. I’m proud of them for showing up with curiosity and zest, despite some REALLY challenging circumstances they’re facing.”
+1. Wisdom from the week:
“Mindfulness lets us see things in a new light and believe in the possibility of change.”
— Ellen Langer
And this week’s Heroic +1s:
- #1960: Aurelius Flying - Gifts Even an Emperor Couldn’t Have Dreamt Of
- #1961: Heroic Rome 2025 - Heroes Unite!
- #1962: How to Think Like Socrates - Philosophers vs. Sophists
- #1963: The Sophist vs. The Philosopher - Confectioners vs. Doctor
- #1964: The First Philosopher - Performing Soul Surgery
- #1965: Illeism - How to Talk to Yourself
- #1966: Put Your Philosophy Into Practice - Today’s the Day, Hero!
This week’s featured Meditation is Heroic Health, an 11-minute walking meditation with guided visualizations to support the health of your entire body (available in app only).
And…
Have questions or suggestions about Heroic, or ANYTHING we can help with?
Join us on Wednesday at 1:00pm EST / 10:00am PST for Office Hours. Or reach out to our top-rated Heroic Service team by replying to this note or sending an email to support@heroic.us.
Alright…
With Wisdom + Discipline + Love + Courage + Gratitude + Hope + Curiosity + Zest.
Heroes Unite!
Let’s do this.
Day 1.
-Michael and Team Heroic
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