This is an introduction to our newest Master Class: Greatest Year Ever 101: How to Make 2016 the Best Year of Your Life and Create an Unending String of Such Awesome Years. :) Get instant access to the full class plus a ton of other goodness as a member. Sign up here: https://brianjohnson.me/membership/
Carol Dweck tells us we can have 2 different frameworks to approach intelligence and achievement. Each has its own goal. Here they are. (P.S. Choose wisely!)
Creativity and anxiety go together. Anxietivity. Let’s remember that a meaningful life in which we’re flourishing and giving ourselves most fully to the world involves stress.
Deep Work. It’s the key to how you get So Good They Can’t Ignore You—which, of course, is the title of another one of Cal’s great books. Big Ideas include Deep Work vs. Shallow Work, how to give your neurons a workout, cleaning up attention residue, the four rules of deep work, finding the routine that works for you and learning how to shut down completely.
Naive passion is *great*!! Right up to the first obstacle. Then our hero tiptoes out the back door. We need the courage of informed passion.
Are you fully charged? Tom Rath tells us it’s all about what we do DAILY and that if we want to improve the quality of our lives (and sense of aliveness!), we need to focus on optimizing three key conditions: Meaning + Interactions + Energy. Big Ideas we explore include the meaning equation, doubling down on your talents, embracing the 500 million moments of our lives, and The iPhone Effect.
Malcolm Gladwell tells us some difficulties can be desirable. How about yours?
This is the second of the three books currently in 99U Book Series. (We cover them all.) Big Ideas we explore in this one include putting yourself into permanent beta, making a decision and then working hard to prove yourself right Peyton Manning style, expanding the amplitude of the waves you make and becoming the Better You.
This is the third installment in 99U’s book series on the “missing curriculum” for creative leaders. Like the other two, it’s a collection of short essays by great leaders + creators + writers. The content is organized in four domains: 1) Defining your purpose + 2) Building your product + 3) Serving your customers + 4) Leading your team. Big Ideas we explore include purpose, eating your own dog food (aka making something YOU are excited to use), serving profoundly, character as your #1 asset and the power of just getting started!
The ability to hold two contradictory beliefs in your mind simultaneously while accepting both of them AND knowing when to bring the right one to the surface while casting the other aside. It's a powerful tool.
Imagine a ceramics teacher splitting a class in two: One group is graded for quantity, the other for quality. Which one do you think creates the bet stuff? (Hint: Think quantity. :)
Here's a quick look at how to Spark + Sustain + Amplify your motivation as you optimize and actualize. Remember: Ambition + Expectancy + Attention + Effort + Attitude + Environment = Super powerful.