Energy

Loehr and Schwartz tell us we've gotta manage ENERGY not time if we wanna really optimize our lives. Their book is pure goodness. In this Note, we'll explore the four principles of full engagement, why we want to be more like sprinters rather than marathon runners, that there's a pulse of life and we need to honor it, and the power of positive rituals. And some other really Big Ideas on getting our Full Engagement on.

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.

I’ve been eagerly awaiting for my dear friend Pilar Gerasimo to write a book that captures her wisdom on how to Optimize our lives and give the world all we’ve got. And... The wait is over! Pilar is one of the wisest people I know. Among many other things, she created Experience Life magazine (which currently reaches over 3 million people per year) and is the co-host of the Living Experiment podcast with Dallas Hartwig (co-founder of Whole30). The lead quote for this book perfectly captures the thesis of the book. It’s from Jiddu Krishnamurti. He tells us: “It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.” Yep. That’s about right. In a society in which the VAST majority of us are sick and tired and anxious and depressed and, well, blah... IT IS NO MEASURE OF HEALTH TO BE WELL ADJUSTED TO THAT SICK SOCIETY. (Right?) Enter: The Healthy Deviant. This “Rule Breaker’s Guide" is packed with Big Ideas on how we can "Be Healthy in an Unhealthy World.”

Dr. John Medina is a developmental molecular biologist focused on the genes involved in human brain development and the genetics of psychiatric disorders. He’s also a professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine in its Department of Bioengineering. And, perhaps most importantly for our purposes, he’s a great writer and storyteller. This is a fascinating look at his 12 “brain rules.” I loved it—especially the first five rules which are a nice confirmation of why our fundamentals are so important! Big Ideas we explore include: a quick glance at our 12 brain rules, the importance of: moving (remember our Olympian ancient ancestors!), sleep (sleep loss = brain drain), attention (multitasking is a MYTH), memory (how we learn), and exploration (we're all scientists running experiments!).

Want to learn how to improve your mind as you age? You can and this book by Michael Gelb (author of one of my favorite books: How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci) and Kelly Howell (creator of Brain Sync’s Destiny meditation which I’ve used hundreds of times!) tells us how. In the Note, we’ll take a peek at their eight ways to boost brain power--ranging from optimism, learning and nutrition to exercise, love and rest! Powerful stuff.

What do you do when you’re having a rough day?

Stephen Covey‘s seventh habit of Highly Effective People is “Sharpen the Saw.”

In The Compound Effect, Darren Hardy makes the important point that we have more control over the very beginnings of our day and the very ends of our days than we do over the middle of the days.

As we’ve discussed, Michelle Segar is one of the world’s leading researchers studying the science of how to Optimize our health behaviors.