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Here are 5 of my favorite Big Ideas from "What to Say When You Talk to Yourself" by Shad Helmstetter, Ph.D. Hope you enjoy!

What do you say when you talk to yourself? Is it empowering? Or not so much? Shad Helmstetter tells us nothing matters quite as much as that. Big Ideas include why and how we need to upgrade our programming, the 5 levels of Self-Talk, and conquering our greatest challenge.

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Here are 5 of my favorite Big Ideas from "The Power of Habit" by Charles Duhigg. Hope you enjoy!

Habits. They’re powerful. And, The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg is a very cool look at why we have them, how they work, and what we can do to change them. The book is an incredibly well-written, fun read and it’s packed with great stories and wisdom and I think you’ll dig it. In this Note, we’ll take a quick peek at the basic aspects of a habit loop (cue + routine + reward), how you can get a cue, what a keystone habit is (and why you should care), the importance of believing you can change and the fact that every habit is malleable. Fun!

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The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin Sharma. He is one of the world's top leadership gurus and one of my favorite teachers. In this PN TV episode, we'll have fun looking at a few of my favorite Big Ideas from his wise, inspiring fable: "The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari." Hope you dig it!

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The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin Sharma. He is one of the world's top leadership gurus and one of my favorite teachers. In this PN TV episode, we'll have fun looking at a few of my favorite Big Ideas from his wise, inspiring fable: "The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari." Hope you dig it!

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Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz. Get your inner "steersman" on in this PN TV episode as we explore a few of my favorite Big Ideas from the classic "Psycho-Cybernetics"! :)

Maxwell Maltz was a plastic surgeon who saw just how important our self-image is to our well being and introduced some Big Ideas on how to tap into the power of our subconscious minds. In this Note, we'll explore the science of guided missiles and see how that ties into our day-to-day lives (hint: goals are *really* important) and the fact that we need to re-hypnotize ourselves if we wanna get our mojo on.

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How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie. If you've ever had a worry or two, I think you'll dig some of my favorite Big Ideas from Dale Carnegie's classic book "How to Stop Worrying and Start Living"!

Have you ever worried more than you'd like? (Me, too.) In this Note, we'll explore some *really* Big Ideas on how to stop worrying and start living—including the importance of rest (did you know our hearts rest way more than they work every day? (Me, either.)) and how important it is to make decisions and take action!

This is our third Note on one of Mark Divine's books. Mark is a retired Navy SEAL Commander. He also has twenty-five years of experience as an entrepreneur. In this book, he draws on his decades of leadership experience to teach us the "7 Leadership Commitments That Forge Elite Teams." Big Ideas we explore include The Two Wolves (which one are YOU feeding?), the. 7 Commitments (Courage + Trust + Respect + Growth + Excellence + Resiliency + Alignment), Falling Down Seven Times (and getting back up eight), Semper Gumby (Always Flexible!), and Your #1 Fear to Stare Down Next (what's yours?).

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Here are 5 of my favorite Big Ideas from The Stoic Challenge by William B. Irvine. Hope you enjoy!

William B. Irvine is a professor of philosophy at Wright State University. He’s also a fantastic (and prolific) writer. And… Unlike many of his academic, professor-of-philosophy peers, he is a practicing Stoic philosopher. In the words of Donald Robertson (another Stoic author and practitioner; see The Philosophy of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), he is both a librarian AND a warrior of the mind. We featured another one of Professor Irvine’s great books on Stoicism called A Guide to the Good Life. I enjoyed that one quite a bit but I REALLY (!) enjoyed this one. Like, jumbo loved it. In fact, I’m going to put this one right at the top of our growing collection of books on Stoicism—along with the must-read classics by Aurelius (Meditations), Seneca (Letters from a Stoic, On the Shortness of Life), and Epictetus (Discourses, Enchiridion) plus the modern classics like Ryan Holiday’s The Obstacle Is the Way and The Daily Stoic. If you’re looking for “A Philosopher’s Guide to Becoming Tougher, Calmer, and More Resilient,” I think you’ll enjoy it as much as I did. I HIGHLY recommend it.

Get The Stoic Challenge on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Stoic-Challenge-Philosophers-Becoming-Resilient/dp/0393652491

Learn more about William B. Irvine: https://www.optimize.me/authors/william-b-irvine/

► RELATED RESOURCES:
Big Idea 1: SETBACK EXEMPLARS
- PN: A Guide to the Good Life by William B. Irvine → https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/a-guide-to-the-good-life-william-irvine/
- +1: Warriors vs. Librarians | Let’s Not Just Catalogue these +1s, Let’s LIVE Them (#66) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/warriors-vs-librarians/
- PN: How to Think Like a Roman Emperor by Donald Robertson → https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/how-to-think-like-a-roman-emperor-donald-robertson/
- +1: Self-Efficacy | The Science of Confidence (#111) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/self-efficacy/
- +1: What’s Your Excuse? | RISE UP! with Spartan Hero Kacey McCallister (#979) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/whats-your-excuse/

Big Idea 2: ANTIFRAGILITY
- Antifragile 101 | How to Use Everything to Fuel Your Heroic Growth → https://www.optimize.me/antifragility/
- +1: Antifragile | vs. Resilient vs. Fragile (#10) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/antifragile/
- +1: OMMS | The Hero’s Mantra (#41) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/omms/
- +1: The 1, 2, 3 of Antifragility | How to Operationalize OMMS (#1108) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/the-1-2-3-of-antifragility/
- +1: Styrofoam Weights | And Your Optimize Gym™ Membership (#407) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/styrofoam-weights/
- PN: The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday → https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-obstacle-is-the-way-ryan-holiday/

Big Idea 3: THE TEST
- #1: "Thank you, Stoic gods! Appreciate the chance to practice my Philosophy!" (#36) → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QywG42MXtY
- +1: Threat vs. Challenge | How to You Respond to Life’s Stressors? (It Matters!) (#336) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/threat-vs-challenge/
Big Idea 4: NEGATIVE VISUALIZATION
- +1: Stoic Negative Visualization | A Practice in the Ancient Art of Stoic Joy (#851) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/stoic-negative-visualization/
- +1: Memento Mori | Want to Live? Remember Death (#209) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/memento-mori/
- +1: Gratitude | Science Says: It Works! (#24) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/gratitude/
- +1: The #1 Obstacle to Gratitude | And Its Remedy (#1071) →
- +1: Science Says: Gratitude Works | Some EYE-POPPING Stats (#1068) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/the-1-obstacle-to-gratitude/
- +1: Taking Things FOR GRANTED vs. AS GRANTED | Let’s Choose Wisely (#1070) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/taking-things-for-granted-vs-as-granted/

Big Idea 5: LAZY BILL
- +1: Demons vs. Daimons | What to Feed Them (#919) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/demons-vs-daimons/
- +1: +1 or -1 = Destiny Math | What Must YOU be? (#1) → https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/destiny-math/

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Here are 5 of my favorite Big Ideas from "Making Hope Happen" by Shane Lopez. Hope you enjoy!

Did you know there's a science of hope? Yep. And Shane Lopez is the world's leading researcher studying the science of hope. This book is an inspiring look at the buts of bolts of cultivating hope. Big Ideas we explore include differentiating hope from fantasizing and dwelling, the three keys to hope (goals + agency + pathways), futurecasting, sirens when/where plans, and why hope is so important for leadership.

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Here are 5 of my favorite Big Ideas from "Eat Move Sleep" by Tom Rath. Hope you enjoy!

Eat Move Sleep. The simple, powerful keys to optimal health and well-being. We talk about these fundamentals ALL the time and this is my new favorite book on health. Big Ideas we explore include 10,008 hours and 36 minutes (the magic # of elite performance), candy for cancer cells, the power of measuring whatever it is you want to improve, how to buy willpower at the store, and a vaccine for the common cold.

This is a surprisingly awesome book—a fable about a young captain who spends time with a master and commander who reveals the secret code of rockin’ it. It’s kinda like if a Navy SEAL wrote The Alchemist or The Way of the Peaceful Warrior or The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari. Big Ideas we cover include: U.P.E.R.S.I.S.T. (the code to being unstoppable), the 2 limitations in life, how to discover your why, how to plan in 3-D, and the magic pill you need to take.

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Here are 5 of my favorite Big Ideas from "Why Meditate?" by Matthieu Ricard. Hope you enjoy!

Why Meditate? According to Ricard, the ultimate reason is to transform ourselves so we can transform our world. That works for me! In this Note, we check out my favorite Big Ideas on working out our mindfulness muscles, looking at the power of neuroplasticity and highlighting the fact that it’s *all* about the consistent practice, working on our consciousness thought after thought and emotion by emotion.

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Do You! by Russell Simmons. He is part yogi, part hip hop mogul and all rock star. In this PN TV episode, we have fun taking a look at some Big Ideas on how to "Do You!" Hope you enjoy!

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Optimizers from 70+ Countries!) Heidi Grant Halvorson is one of the world's leading researchers/teachers on the science of success. Here are a few of my favorite Big Ideas from her *great* book, Succeed. Hope you enjoy!!