Despair --> Hope
#948

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The Best Bridge?

In our last +1, we put on our Optimizing nerd glasses ( 🤓 !!!) and explored the etymological (and psychological) opposites: prosper and despair. We reminded ourselves that prosper literally means “to go forward with hope” while despair literally means “without hope.” Then we channeled the heal...

+1 inspired by Note: Why We Sleep

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Despair vs. Prosper
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Etymological (and Psychological) Opposites

Not too long ago, we talked about the etymology of the word prosper. As you may recall (and I hope you do!), prosper literally means “to go forward with hope.” As such, prosperity isn’t so much the current status of your bank balance (or cash flow statements) as it is your attitude toward l...

+1 inspired by Note: Making Hope Happen

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Mental Concrete
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Let's Not Get Stuck In It

In our last +1, we hung out with an obscure 20th century philosopher and spiritual teacher named Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov. He wisely reminded us that: “The past is past but it has given birth to the present, and the present contains the roots of the future. This means that you must build your futu...

+1 inspired by Note: Golden Rules for Everyday Life

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Past → Present → Future
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The Power of NOW!

In our last +1, we talked about our Past, Present and Future and briefly explored the idea that if we want to create a better future AND enjoy life RIGHT NOW, we’d be wise to bring our best to THIS MOMENT. (And the one after that and…) Today I want to invite an obscure 20th century philosopher and sp...

+1 inspired by Note: Golden Rules for Everyday Life

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Conquering Anxiety & Conquering Procrastination

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Stress Curfews
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When's Yours?

Not too long ago, we talked about Sleep Curfews. Five of them, to be precise. One for Caffeine. Another for Exercise. Plus Eating. Plus Screens. Plus Work. As you may recall, Caffeine has a half-life of 5 to 6 hours so try to cut back on that by around noon or 2 or whatever you find works best for you. E...

+1 inspired by Note: Why We Sleep

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Life’s Washing Machines
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Helping Us Get Rid of the Grimy Stuff

As we’ve discussed, Alan Cohen is one of my favorite teachers. I fell in love with him and his storytelling after watching him kick off Finding Joe years ago. In his latest book, Spirit Means Business, he unpacks some of the “illusions” we all face as we navigate life (and business). I absolutely l...

+1 inspired by Note: Spirit Means Business

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Grateful Pearl Makers
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What Luck! More Irritants = More Pearls

In our last +1, we talked about my recent bout with petulance (aka “unreasonable irritation”). (Hah. Go me!) And, I proposed we use any potential future irritants as fuel for our pearl making. Which leads us to a great passage from an obscure little book called Golden Rules for Everyday Life by an eq...

+1 inspired by Note: Golden Rules for Everyday Life

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Why Be Petulant…
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When We Can Be Pearl Makers?

The other day Phil Stutz and I were rocking our Monday at 3:00pm Coaching session. It was session number 100-and-something. I filled up another few pages of notes to add to my inches-thick stack from the last 2.5+ years. The theme of that particular chat? Well… Uh… I almost hate to admit it, but it w...

+1 inspired by Note: Coming Alive

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Don’t Feed the Demon
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A Lesson from Olloch the Glutton

One of my favorite things in life is reading with Emerson. It’s a keystone habit for our family’s nighttime rituals that I absolutely cherish. It’s becoming more and more fun to engage in some great micro-philosophical chats about life as we read great books and snuggle. 😍🤓😍 (Very importan...

+1 inspired by Note: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

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How Is This Making Me Stronger?
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Well, How Is It? Add Fuel to the Fire!

In our last +1, we talked about making flame and brightness out of everything thrown into our blazing fire. (Thank you Ryan Holiday for the connection to Marcus Aurelius’s wisdom.) How’d that go for you? Shall we practice again? (Remember: The only way to get good at A N Y T H I N G is to practice it...

+1 inspired by Note: The Obstacle Is the Way

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How to Stop Worrying
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And Start Living (Hint: Spit on Your Hands and Get Busy!)

At this stage, most people have heard of Dale Carnegie’s uber-bestselling book How to Win Friends and Influence People. It was originally published in 1936 and has sold 15 million copies. It helped kicked off the whole self-development movement and is one of the bestselling self-help book of all time. ...

+1 inspired by Note: How to Stop Worrying and Start Living

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Conquering Anxiety & Conquering Procrastination

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Counting Pearls vs. Stringing Pearls
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Yoda Says: One’s Better Than the Other

Not too long ago, we spent some time with my Yoda (aka Phil Stutz) and he taught us the power of what he calls “stringing pearls.” (It was Part 2 in our Yoda’s Law of Action series. 🤓) As you may recall, the basic idea is that life (particularly a life filled with creative pursuits—which means...

+1 inspired by Note: Coming Alive

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Stoic Negative Visualization
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A Practice in the Ancient Art of Stoic Joy

In our last couple +1s, we talked about a couple of ways to reframe life’s lemons into a little more Optimizade. We started with “At least THAT didn’t happen!” and then sprinkled in some Stoic wisdom regarding rehearsing death and appreciating the “uncovenanted surplus” of moments. (btw: I ha...

+1 inspired by Note: A Guide to the Good Life

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Aurelius on Death
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And Appreciating the “Uncovenanted Surplus” That Is Life

In our last +1, we reflected on the idea that little (and big) oopses provide us with opportunities to appreciate that we’re still alive as we practice gratitude that something much worse didn’t happen. “At least THAT didn’t happen!” For me, when I broke my arm, I was grateful I didn’t break ...

+1 inspired by Note: Letters from a Stoic

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The Greatest Predictor of Anxiety
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Can You Guess It?

Way back in the early days of our +1 Optimizing together, we talked about the fact that our limbic systems evolved to deal with a single lion roaring at us at a time. As we said in that little chat on Lions vs. Jungles, that lion’s roar triggers a fight or flight response. We fight or we flee. And, hop...

+1 inspired by Note: The Upside of Stress

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Despair --> Hope #948 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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Despair vs. Prosper #947 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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Mental Concrete #944 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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Past → Present → Future #943 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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Stress Curfews #940 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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Life’s Washing Machines #939 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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Grateful Pearl Makers #937 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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Why Be Petulant… #936 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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Don’t Feed the Demon #918 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 Is This Making Me Stronger? #899 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 Stop Worrying #870 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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Counting Pearls vs. Stringing Pearls #867 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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Stoic Negative Visualization #851 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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Aurelius on Death #850 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 Greatest Predictor of Anxiety #780 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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Despair --> Hope
#948

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Despair vs. Prosper
#947

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Mental Concrete
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Past → Present → Future
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Stress Curfews
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Life’s Washing Machines
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Grateful Pearl Makers
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Why Be Petulant…
#936

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Don’t Feed the Demon
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How Is This Making Me Stronger?
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How to Stop Worrying
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Counting Pearls vs. Stringing Pearls
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Stoic Negative Visualization
#851

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Aurelius on Death
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The Greatest Predictor of Anxiety
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