Optimize With Brian Johnson | More Wisdom In Less Time

Ariane de Bonvoisin is the founder of First30days.com and her great book is packed with wisdom on navigating the first 30 days of any (and all) of the changes we inevitably encounter. In the Note, we'll look at how to become a change optimist as we see all the amazing opportunities that come in a time of change and as we work out our change muscles and battle the change demons! Good times.

How's your shadow? (You know, that part of yourself you just don't like too much that you try to repress/ignore/etc.) Debbie Ford's great book is a classic at helping us shine some light on our dark spots and live more fully integrated, authentic, compassionate and creative lives and in this Note, we'll have fun looking at how to find the gold in the dark.

Are you ready to make the Big Leap into your Zone of Genius where you expand in creativity and love and abundance every day as you inspire those around you to do the same? Sweet! Then you'll love the Note where we look at a bunch of Big Ideas on how to make that leap. We'll have fun learning how to wave at our fears, get over our worry and honor the handshake deal we made with the Universe when we were born.

The third Abraham-Hicks title we profile, this one's all about aligning our desires and beliefs and taking inspired action to go "downstream" and rock it. In the Note, we'll explore the difference between deliberate creation and creating by default along with another peek at the importance of using our emotions as a guidance system and how it's always best to start with something *easy* and then develop our confidence and skills from there!

This classic has sold 15 million copies and was the first self-development book I read back in the day (1995 to be precise). In this Note, we'll take a quick look at all 7 Habits—from being proactive (huge!) to beginning with the end in mind, putting first things first, thinking win/win, seeking first to understand, synergizing and sharpening the saw. Lots of goodness here to help us develop our character to create our ideal lives as we most fully give ourselves to the world.

Did you know 20% of beer drinkers drink 80% of the beer? And that 20% of streets account for 80% of the traffic? And that most peeps wear 20% of their clothes 80% of the time? And that 20% of customers/products usually account for about 80% of profits? Yepperz. In this Note, we’ll explore the 80/20 principle and how we can apply its power to every aspect of our lives to "achieve more with less."

Shawn Phillips is all about empowering us to create physical and mental "Strength for Life." In this Note we'll learn the difference between transformation and change, the incredible benefits of consistent training and the importance of focusing our minds along with all kinds of other Big Ideas on how to get our strength on.

Michael Beckwith runs the Agape church in Los Angeles and is one of the most plugged in human beings I've ever seen. In this Note, we'll explore some of his many Big Ideas—including how important discipline is and the fact that as we rock it, our discipline turns to blissipline. We'll also see how to avoid spiritual constipation by PRACTICING what we study and how even enlightened beings burn their bagels on occasion (so we can prolly relax into our own imperfections).

We've got three Notes on Wayne Dyer (see The Power of Intention and Your Erroneous Zones) and in this Note we'll have fun learning about the power of "acting as if" (Dyer's got an awesome description of how to rock this!) along with the importance of committing your ideal to paper, disdaining all disbelief and asking "How can I serve?!"

Paulo Coelho is one of the most inspiring and beloved authors on the planet (can you believe he’s sold over 100 million copies of his books in 150 languages?!?) and in this Note we'll explore some of my favorite Big Ideas from a bunch of his great books. We'll explore the one great truth that when we *really* want something, it's because the desire originated in the soul of the universe and the fact that the extraordinary is the birthright of all of us. I love Paulo and trust you will, too, if you don't already!

If you're looking to live an extraordinary life, this great book lays out the new model for rockin' it. In the Note, we'll explore some Big Ideas on how to get into your Trusting Mindset where you just let it rip as you eat stress like an energy bar and put yourself on super pilot. Remember that everyone who's ever made history was a nut… until they did what they said they'd do and then they were a genius.

Byron Katie is best known for the four questions that make up "The Work" and in this Note we’ll take a quick look at those along with some other really cool Ideas. We'll learn to love what is by seeing our suffering as a compassionate alarm clock awakening us to our possibilities and by recognizing that if we see things as "wrong" in the world, we need to start by changing our own consciousness.

The more I observed human behavior, the more convinced I became that the key to health is understanding each person’s individual needs, rather than following a set of predetermined rules. I saw plenty of evidence that having happy relationships, a fulfilling career, an exercise routine and a spiritual practice are even more important to health than a daily diet.

Michael Gelb profiles the seven attributes of da Vinci's genius in his great book and in our Note we'll have fun checking out some Big Ideas including one of the most powerful exercises I've ever done called "A Hundred Questions." The exercise literally shaped my life and I trust you'll dig it as much as I have. We'll also look at the power of affirmations (did you know da Vinci used them?!) and the body of a genius (did you know da Vinci was also an exceptional athlete?!). Fun stuff.

Marci Shimoff created Chicken Soup for the Woman’s Soul and integrates great stories about happy people with scientifically established ways to boost our happiness in her great book. In the Note, we'll explore the fact that we all have a happiness set point that's genetically determined and dive into a bunch of Big Ideas about what we can do raise our happiness levels.

Gay and Katie Hendricks are among the world's top relationship experts. In this Note we'll check out some Big Ideas on how to get our Love on—including the importance of appreciation and the need to create at least a 5:1 ratio of positive interactions to negative interactions if we want to have great relationships. (Did you know that when you appreciate people their value appreciates?! Yepperz!) Plus we'll look at the importance of re-committing and the acid test of healthy relationships.

You can dramatically improve the overall quality of your life far faster than you might think possible. All you need is the desire to change, the decision to take action, the discipline to practice the new behaviors you have chosen, and the determination to persist until you get the results you want.

This is Dan Millman's magnum opus where he walks us through "The Twelve Gateways to Personal Growth" and in the Note we check out Big Ideas ranging from the importance of discovering our self-worth (and how to do so) to the fact that, although "Carpe diem!" sounds good, it's impossible to do. We can’t "Seize the day!" but we *can* "Seize the moment!" or , as Dan says: "Carpe punctum!"

Dan Millman (author of Way of the Peaceful Warrior and other great books) introduced me to this book as he's been deeply influenced by David Reynolds' integration of Zen Buddhism and Western Psychotherapy. In this Note, we'll explore some Big Ideas on how to live with greater self-mastery by more effectively relating to our emotions and consistently asking ourselves: "Now what needs to be done?!"

Gay Hendricks is a close friend and mentor of mine who encourages us to create a life of our own design as we enjoy the magic that unfolds when we truly commit to living an extraordinary life. In this Note, we'll explore Ideas on how to get our conscious living on including letting go of the past and the importance of having *both* goals AND moment to moment flow.