600 + of the top optimal
living books…ever.

Concentration. As we know, the sun's rays do not burn until brought to a focus. This is an old school manual on how to cultivate our strength of mind to set our lives on fire. In the Note, we'll look at some Big Ideas to cultivate our concentration, sticktoitiveness and make every moment a part of our practice.

Jordan Peterson is one of the world's leading intellectuals. He's a Canadian clinical psychologist and professor at the University of Toronto. (Before that, he taught at Harvard.) He’s published over 100 scientific articles and he’s super-popular on YouTube. This book is wonderfully intense and equally thoughtful. Peterson’s integration of everything from evolutionary psychology, politics, religion and morality is astounding. After taking a super-quick look at all 12 Rules, Big Ideas we cover include the importance of mastering the flow or Order + Chaos (and why RULES are so important), Rule #1 (stand up straight, shoulders back! Remember lobsters...), Rule #2 (Treat yourself better! Remember pets...), Rule #6: Clean up your life (remember to start stopping...), and the fact that your Being is in your Becoming (which is connected to Rule #4...).

Morihei Ueshiba was one of the world's greatest martial artists and the founder of Aikido. In this little book, he shares some awesome Big Ideas on The Art of Peace. Big Ideas range from the fact that life is about growth and that if we stop growing, we're as good as dead to the idea that our ultimate purpose is to realize our inner divinity. Good stuff.

Joshua Rosenthal runs a nutrition school my Goddess is attending and this is the best health and nutrition book I've ever read. It's packed with grounded wisdom and in the Note we'll check out some Big Ideas ranging from the importance of Primary Foods (Joshua tells us that our spirituality, career, exercise and relationships are far more important than what we eat— when's the last time you read *that* in a nutrition book?) to the power of following the basics rather than following the latest fad diet.

Matthew Kelly asks: If you had to choose between balance and satisfaction, which would you choose? Satisfaction, right? 10,000 out of 10,000 people agree. Who wants “balance” anyway? And who came up with the idea of “work-life” balance? Big Ideas we explore include figuring out what you *really* want in life, becoming the best-version-of-yourself, answering the ultimate question, mastering energy management and learning to take the decade view of your life.

As you know if you’ve been following along, I love Abraham Maslow and feel a deep kinship to him and his work. We have featured two of the books he published during his lifetime: Toward a Psychology of Being and Motivation and Personality. Although this book has only ONE review on Amazon and I could only buy a used copy of it, I knew I’d love it. And, although I had already been deeply influenced by Maslow and his thinking, there was something about reading his unpublished essays and journal thoughts that made me feel that much more connected to this great man. Big Ideas we explore include Maslow’s thoughts on the “eupsychian ideal” (aka: the “eudaemonic ideal”!), the psychology of happiness (eudaimonology!!), Stoic philosophy (Maslow was a fan), vicious cultural influences (Maslow was NOT a fan!), and the Jonah Complex (ANSWER YOUR HEROIC CALL, already!!).

Brad Stulberg is a writer focused on health and the science of human performance. (Amy Cuddy calls him her favorite health and science writer.) Steve Magness is a coach to some of the top distance runners in the world. Together, they’ve written a super-engaging, quick-reading book on how to pursue growth in a healthy, sustainable way—aka, without burning out. Big Ideas we explore include the secret equation of sustainable awesome (Stress + Rest = Growth), just-manageable challenges, the iPhone Effect Part 3 (aka how to decrease your productivity in one step!), the optimal work/rest ratio, and the paradoxical twist of fulfillment.

Lanny Bassham is one of my favorite teachers. He’s an Olympic Gold Medalist and World Champion rifle shooter. He won a silver medal after having what he calls a “mental meltdown” in the 1972 Olympics. Then he spent several hours a day for the next couple years talking to every gold medalist he could find about how they were THINKING while they were performing at such an elite level. In the next Olympics in 1976, Lanny won the gold and then began teaching his “Mental Management System®.” Since then, he’s coached Olympic teams from all around the world and has also worked with the Navy SEALs, Fortune 500 businesses, the PGA and its players and other elite performers in sports and business. He boiled decades of wisdom into his fantastic book With Winning in Mind. He and I connected for an interview and I’ve been personally practicing many of his ideas for years. Then recently sent me a copy of his latest book — this one. I read it the next day. It’s AWESOME. And, well, here we are. Of course, it’s packed with Big Ideas and, as always, I’m excited to share some of my favorites!

Angela Duckworth is the world’s leading authority on the science of grit. In fact, she pioneered the field and, as Daniel Gilbert says on the cover: “Psychologists have spent decades searching for the secret of success, but Duckworth is the one who found it.” In this Note, we explore the two facets of grit (hint: passion + perseverance, why they’re important and how to cultivate them.

Dr. Frank Lipman is known as the “voice of sustainable wellness” and is one of the world’s leading functional medicine doctors—trained in both Western and Eastern medicine. He’s also an incredibly nice and passionate guy! Revive is a great book that guides us through a six-week healing program. It’s *packed* with Big Ideas on how we can, as the sub-title suggests, stop feeling spent and start living again. In the Note, we’ll get our wisdom on as we learn about epigenetics, how to build our essential energy and create a sweeter life!