Mastery of Mind and Body: Pathways to Personal Excellence | Brian Johnson

The James Altucher Show

 What a great book!

For anyone who's ever been interested, even for a second in the personal development/ inspirational category, this book, Areté: Activate Your Heroic Potential by Brian Johnson... You have to visually see this book. It's 451 chapters, a thousand pages. It's almost like a little cube, but it's very fast to read because every chapter is just one or two pages and it's well done.

It interweaves all these hundreds of stories and different authors and philosophers into one cohesive strategy for living your best life. The word Arate means, essentially, everyday living the best life. And this book is about how to do it. There are hundreds of stories and examples.

It's also Brian Johnson and his own stories, and we talk about it from various perspectives. In the very beginning, we're talking about how his son is super-interested in chess, which is coincidental to me. So we talk about how he's using Arate with his son, but then we dive into so many different subjects about what it means to activate your heroic potential.

One of the funnest podcasts that I've done, I really recommend listening to this one. Thanks!

Heroic | The Social Training Platform

Areté: Activate Your Heroic Potential

Brian Johnson (heroic.us)

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Episode Summary

• [00:01:30] - James Altucher's chess journey and the improvement in his chess rating.
• [00:02:25] - Discuss chess, learning from the game, and dealing with losses.
• [00:04:54] - Brian Johnson talks about his son Emerson's chess training and the importance of physical fitness for mental performance.
• [00:06:03] - The role of energy and preparation in various fields, including chess and business.
• [00:07:11] - James Altucher and Brian Johnson discuss the importance of physiology in cognitive performance.
• [00:10:32] - Conversation on the impact of exercise and mental health.
• [00:13:10] - Discussion about the impact of positive affirmations and mental preparation.
• [00:16:22] - Emphasis on learning from mistakes and adopting a growth mindset.
• [00:17:38] - Introduction to Brian Johnson's book "Arate" and its significance.
• [00:19:37] - Discussion on various techniques for self-improvement.
• [00:21:04] - Brian Johnson explains why he is invited to speak at significant events, including with the U.S. Special Operations Command.
• [00:23:27] - The concept of "antifragile confidence."
• [00:26:27] - How to maintain and follow a personal protocol for success.
• [00:30:29] - Anecdotes about helping others develop their personal protocols.
• [00:33:31] - Specific examples of protocols and habits for high performance.
• [00:37:28] - The significance of doing tasks even when you don't feel like it.
• [00:39:26] - Differentiating extrinsic and intrinsic motivation.
• [00:41:31] - Brian Johnson's approach to synthesizing wisdom from various authors.
• [00:44:28] - Discussion on resilience, growth mindset, and the concept of 'grit'.
• [00:48:30] - The importance of doing and applying knowledge.
• [00:49:32] - Crafting a personal checklist for success.
• [00:54:07] - The role of physical fitness in various professional fields.
• [00:57:06] - The impact of posture and physical presence on performance.
• [01:00:01] - Brian Johnson's creative process and inspirations for his book.
• [01:00:01] - Brian Johnson talks about his creative process and inspirations for his book "Arate".
• [01:08:10] - Book release information and plans for additional volumes.
• [01:17:56] - Closing remarks, future engagements, and appreciation for the interview.

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------------

• What do YOU think of the show? Head to JamesAltucherShow.com/listeners and fill out a short survey that will help us better tailor the podcast to our audience!
• Are you interested in getting direct answers from James about your question on a podcast? Go to JamesAltucherShow.com/AskAltucher and send in your questions to be answered on the air!

------------

• Visit Notepd.com to read our idea lists & sign up to create your own!
• My new book, Skip the Line, is out! Make sure you get a copy wherever books are sold!
• Join the You Should Run for President 2.0 Facebook Group, where we discuss why you should run for President.
• I write about all my podcasts! Check out the full post and learn what I learned at jamesaltuchershow.com

------------

Thank you so much for listening! If you like this episode, please rate, review, and subscribe to “The James Altucher Show” wherever you get your podcasts:

• Apple Podcasts
• iHeart Radio
• Spotify

Follow me on social media:

• YouTube
• Twitter
• Facebook
• LinkedIn