Science Says: Gratitude Works
#1068

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Some EYE-POPPING Stats

In our last +1, we talked about the power of gratitude. We soaked up some science-wisdom from Robert Emmons, the leading researcher on gratitude, who told us that gratitude is the best approach to life. When things are going well, it amplifies the awesome. When things aren’t going so well, it gives...

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Conquering Anxiety & Conquering Depression

The Ultimate Gift
#1067

Existence Itself

In our last +1 we talked about David Brooks’ two mountains and connected them to the metaphor of stepping out of our shiny race cars and into the pit crew to help OTHERS win THEIR races in life. I encouraged us to get tactical about it—picking three people and thinking of one thing we could do fo...

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Conquering Anxiety & Love

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How to Fix Your Knees
#962

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Aka: An Astonishing Study on the Power of Placebos

In our last +1 we talked about placebos (“I shall be pleasing”) and nocebos (“I shall cause harm”). I promised to talk about what I consider one of the all-time most crazy-awesome studies. (Hah.) (Seriously.) We’ll revisit another Harvard professor for this one. Moving from the Psychology Depar...

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Confidence & Conquering Anxiety

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How to Prosper
#958

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Some “Pro” Tips (Via a Visit with my Dictionary)

The other day we wrapped up the Fundamentals module of the Mastery Series phase of our Optimize Coach program. (That was a mouthful, wasn’t it?) (Hah.) Our Mastery students and aspiring Coaches and I went from Eat to Move to Sleep to Breathe to Be Present to… Prosper. As we’ve discussed (more than ...

+1 inspired by Note: Spiritual Economics

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Abundance & Conquering Depression

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Thank You. Thank You. Thank You.
#945

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Thank You. Thank You. Thank You. Thank You. Thank You.

As we’ve discussed, a mantra is literally “a tool of the mind.” By repeating a mantra over and over and over again (spiritual teachers say!, it takes hold in our subconscious and subtly shapes our mind. Eknath Easwaran is a huge fan and advocate of mantras. He sold me on their power years a...

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Conquering Depression & Positive Psychology

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Prosper = “to Go Forward Hopefully”
#923

Not so Much a CONDITION OF Life as It Is an ATTITUDE TOWARD Life

In our last couple +1s, we took a quick look at some of my recent attempts to cool-ify and kid-ify the idea that delaying gratification via saving/investing money is awesome. 🤓 Today I want to step back and share one of my absolute favorite wisdom gems on the subject of money/abundance/etc. It’s fro...

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Abundance & Confidence

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“How Am I THAT?”
#907

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Well, How Are You?

Continuing our exploration of using interpersonal challenges as fuel for our flames and brightness, let’s talk a little more about how to alchemize interactions with challenging people people we perceive to be challenging. This little passage from Tony Schwartz and Jim Loehr’s great book The Power of...

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Conquering Perfectionism & Self-Image

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Hanging out with Confucius
#906

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Learning from the Good and the Bad

A few +1s ago, we posed the question: “How is this making me stronger?” Specifically: How is this challenge I’m facing Today making me stronger? (Well, how is it?!) In the context of interpersonal challenges, there are a lot of tools we can use. Some of my favorites include Active Love and modified...

+1 inspired by Note: The Analects of Confucius

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Antifragility & Self-Image

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Empty Feet (Part 2)
#878

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One More Time: It’s ALL Empty! (Fill It Up Wisely)

In our last couple +1s we’ve been talking about feet. We started off with a little biomechanical goodness on the virtues of going barefoot on occasion and then moved into a discussion on the inherent “emptiness” of meaning after I got two EXACTLY opposite responses to precisely the same thing. Me: ...

+1 inspired by Note: The Dhammapada

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Confidence & Self-Image

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Empty Feet
#877

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Ink Blobs and Emptiness on the Trail

In our last +1, we hung out with my feet. (Left foot. Left foot. Left foot. Right! … Feet in the morning. Feet at night! 🤓) As you may recall, I shared a story about a nice lady who, after seeing me carrying my shoes on some uneven terrain at the end of my Trail workout, said: “You’re going to k...

+1 inspired by Note: The Dhammapada

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Confidence & Self-Image

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Statistics Show Trends
#848

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They Can’t Predict Your Life

In our last couple +1s, we’ve been exploring some history-making heroes. Most recently, the Mahatma himself: Mr. Gandhi. Today we’re going to talk about some similar wisdom—albeit on a much more mundane, personal plane—from The Achievement Habit by Bernard Roth. He tells us: “Statistics show yo...

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Confidence & Purpose

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Diagnosis vs. Prognosis
#846

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Believe One, Question the Other

In our last +1, we chatted about my little burpee saga and had some group gratitude hugs. Today I want to chat about a line I once heard from Deepak Chopra. In the context of dealing with a health challenge, he said something along the lines of: “Believe the diagnosis. Question the prognosis.” That w...

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Antifragility & Confidence

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Rejected Lately?
#839

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Dr. Seuss, JK Rowling and YOU

At this stage, most of us know that JK Rowling was rejected twelve (!) times before she finally found a publisher who believed in her and her wizard Harry Potter. (btw: Check out this super-inspiring look at the original synopsis Rowling wrote to pitch the book.) And, you probably know that she’s gone ...

+1 inspired by Note: Dr. Seuss & Mr. Geisel

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Confidence & Creativity

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Let’s Try to Be Optimists
#772

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But Try Not to Be Stupid

Let’s wrap up our quick look at Colin Powell’s thoughts on the power of grounded optimism with one more gem. This one’s from Rule #4 of his 13 Rules. The Rule? “It Can Be Done.” Powell tells us: “This familiar quotation is on a desk plaque given to me by the great humorist Art Buchwald. Once ...

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Confidence & Conquering Perfectionism

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Colin Powell on Hope
#771

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“It’s a Bad Supper, but Makes a Good Breakfast”

In our last +1, we talked about my recent Google search to learn more about force multipliers. We learned that a hammer is a force multiplier—helping us get more done with the same amount of effort. (And a lot less pain in the old hand!) We also learned that, according to the wise leader Colin Powell, ...

+1 inspired by Note: It Worked for Me

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Confidence & Conquering Perfectionism

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Science Says: Gratitude Works #1068 Get instant access to all +1's! Join nearly 10,000 members in the 1,000-Day Epic Optimizing Challenge and start optimizing your life today. Join Now

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The Ultimate Gift #1067

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How to Fix Your Knees #962 Get instant access to all +1's! Join nearly 10,000 members in the 1,000-Day Epic Optimizing Challenge and start optimizing your life today. Join Now

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How to Prosper #958 Get instant access to all +1's! Join nearly 10,000 members in the 1,000-Day Epic Optimizing Challenge and start optimizing your life today. Join Now

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Thank You. Thank You. Thank You. #945 Get instant access to all +1's! Join nearly 10,000 members in the 1,000-Day Epic Optimizing Challenge and start optimizing your life today. Join Now

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Prosper = “to Go Forward Hopefully” #923

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“How Am I THAT?” #907 Get instant access to all +1's! Join nearly 10,000 members in the 1,000-Day Epic Optimizing Challenge and start optimizing your life today. Join Now

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Hanging out with Confucius #906 Get instant access to all +1's! Join nearly 10,000 members in the 1,000-Day Epic Optimizing Challenge and start optimizing your life today. Join Now

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Empty Feet (Part 2) #878 Get instant access to all +1's! Join nearly 10,000 members in the 1,000-Day Epic Optimizing Challenge and start optimizing your life today. Join Now

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Empty Feet #877 Get instant access to all +1's! Join nearly 10,000 members in the 1,000-Day Epic Optimizing Challenge and start optimizing your life today. Join Now

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Statistics Show Trends #848 Get instant access to all +1's! Join nearly 10,000 members in the 1,000-Day Epic Optimizing Challenge and start optimizing your life today. Join Now

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Diagnosis vs. Prognosis #846 Get instant access to all +1's! Join nearly 10,000 members in the 1,000-Day Epic Optimizing Challenge and start optimizing your life today. Join Now

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Rejected Lately? #839 Get instant access to all +1's! Join nearly 10,000 members in the 1,000-Day Epic Optimizing Challenge and start optimizing your life today. Join Now

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Let’s Try to Be Optimists #772 Get instant access to all +1's! Join nearly 10,000 members in the 1,000-Day Epic Optimizing Challenge and start optimizing your life today. Join Now

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Colin Powell on Hope #771 Get instant access to all +1's! Join nearly 10,000 members in the 1,000-Day Epic Optimizing Challenge and start optimizing your life today. Join Now

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Science Says: Gratitude Works
#1068

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The Ultimate Gift
#1067

How to Fix Your Knees
#962

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How to Prosper
#958

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Thank You. Thank You. Thank You.
#945

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Prosper = “to Go Forward Hopefully”
#923

“How Am I THAT?”
#907

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Hanging out with Confucius
#906

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Empty Feet (Part 2)
#878

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Empty Feet
#877

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Statistics Show Trends
#848

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Diagnosis vs. Prognosis
#846

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Rejected Lately?
#839

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Let’s Try to Be Optimists
#772

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Colin Powell on Hope
#771

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