Here's a quick look at a few of my favorite Big Ideas from Tal Ben-Shahar's *brilliant* book (especially if you've been or are a perfectionist like me 
, The Pursuit of Perfect. In this episode, we'll take a quick look at how to be an optimalist rather than a perfectionist.
--> Links mentioned in the episode:
- Michael Jordan's video on Failure
- An interview I did where I talked about my biggest challenges/failures
--> This is one of the 100 *awesome* books I distilled into 6-page PDF and 20-minute MP3 PhilosophersNotes you can get for only 47 bucks. Hook yourself up here, yo!
hiya! thanks again!!!
i love the mis-take idea and the platinum rule...
i've re-defined 'perfect'... and it's 'exactly-who/what-you-are' (which means that actually you are much MORE than you think...) ~ so just give yourself a break! (unconditional love is always the answer...)
anyway, excellent tv episode again ~ i'm looking forward to more!
p.s. so i see someone's doing laundry, huh?
love always,
ewa
hey ewa:
hehehehe on the laundry! I had filmed a bunch of the prior episodes on the same day. too funny.
here's to loving who we are as become all that we can be!
-bri
Love, the extras in the background...the frolic, which is key to "getting there" with glee!:)
jt's all about the frolic, huh?
Yo Bri~
Love it man! This is you, the anti-guru guru shining. Man, if ever I've been inspired to be on video myself, this is it. It's just inspiring to see and feel the value. I love it... so happy you' ve taken to this!!!
Now, on this topic... OUCH!
Not that I've ever suffered from PERFECTIONISM... well, at least not the healthy sort. Well, maybe a little but man, do I get this one.
I also want to tip a huge hand to the point of RECOVERY. It's soooo key to ones performance be it on the field, in the office or in life... recovery is rest and regeneration. As you know it's a key topic in my Strength for LIFE.
Most people head into the hyper "get fit" mode from a place of stress, fatigue and depletion... and can't figure out why they get anything but fit. In Strength for LIFE is start all people, of all levels, on a 12-day Basecamp Body Mind Reboot just for this.
Also on this note, from the life of an entrepreneur, I've been working with a partner, coach in Canada and we've been digging into the neuro-chemistry (brain state) of urgency addiction--a Quadrant 1 life and looking at the vital importance of nutrition to reset the pattern--to interrupt.
It's so vital... and so powerful. Fuel your body and mind and create energy, space, freedom and see the world anew. When you're depleted your body and mind are in a chemical bath of fight or flight and that can and must be changed to be free.
I could go on... as you know... but all for now. Greatness!
In Strength,
Shawn
PS. What are you shooting with? What's your mic? Details, details sir... ?
hey shawn!
so great to see you here and thx for the kind words. and thx 10x more for the awesome wisdom.
one of my favorite parts of Strength for Life is the Basecamp idea. Pure genius. and fascinating stuff on the quadrant 1 lifestyle and its associated neuro-chemistry. It's funny b/c I can literally feel my addictions to the internet/iPhone/etc. taking hold again after the year of detox in bali. it's an incredible challenge (for me anyhoo) to stay present and focused in q2 and I'm looking forward to hearing more about your research on the role of nutrition on this (and everything else you're learning!).
my set up:
I'm using the new sony handycam: http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=Sony+HDR...
and a sennheiser wireless set up: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/618739-REG/...
and manfronto tripod: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?ci=3909&...
and I have inspiration from sir gary v, of course: http://www.amazon.com/Crush-Time-Cash-Your-Passio...
AND I TOTALLY (!!!) WANT to see you rockin' videos. holy apeshit that would be cool. I love your little doodle videos you do once in a while and you in front of the camera Crushing It? that would be magnificent to say the least.
Yo Bri~
Thanks... helpful. I have a bitchen SONY HD but the AVCHD makes me crazy... Been looking at a new camera that records HD straight to MP4.
Been looking at Mics so this is HUGE helpful.
Tripod, great! Thanks... on it.
Yes, the Gar-meister! Love the G-man... "PLEASE! Stop doing shit you hate!" My fav quote from Web 2.0 conference.
heheheh. classic quote.
lemme know if you get the sennheiser and remember to test the sensitivity options (i had echo in my first 6 episodes till i figured that out)!
fun.
PS... the Headway theme looks pretty cool... like?
what's the Headway theme?!?
Yeah, my sony is close... similar, same... almost. Good machine.
Lighting? Just good lighting of have something to make you shine?
i use natural lighting. I'm on the opposite side of a big sliding door that faces east and has a fair amount of good light till like 4pm. i had a cool camera dood (who shot a documentary on joseph campbell I'm going to be in) cruise over and set the place up! i also have a 300w thingy I haven't used as the natural light looks *way* better:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/552465-REG/...
Thank you for another great video note! The big ideas from this book and Ben-Shahar's other book "Happier" are so practical, grounded, and applicable on a subtle yet profound level.
I have to admit though, the "energy candy" interlude (and your awesome, exemplary reaction) was the best part of the video :] Way to live it!
thank you well said, john!! tal ben-shahar has a brilliant way of weaving the practical, grounded and inspiringly applicable ideas together!!
and too funny on the energy candy. I agree! hehe.
hehe... I had to laugh at the part where you said you are a recovering perfectionist. Glad to have the opportunity to help you recover. I think I am giving you lots of opportunities to practice being an optimalist.
Love that way of looking at it by the way. Another awesome video. They are clearly getting better and better. Also liked your goddess walking through just at the right time... 
hehheh. i appreciate your help in my recovery! you're a giver like that, bro!
working with you is such a pleasure and i'm so excited to see how we optimalize in 2010!!
and thx for your kind words. I'm excited to practice practice practice and get better and better!
and smiling at the Goddess prancing by.
Dude. I love the bloody nose example. BRING IT. GET OFF THE FREAKIN' MAT and get back in the game! HELL YES!
right on, brother!!!
to bringin' it!!!
Thanks again, Brian.
So many of the great ideas you mentioned resonate. BTW, I don't know if your familiar with "Mach II With Your Hair On Fire: The Art of Vision & Self Motivation" By Richard Bliss Brooke. That's a fantastic short book where I first found the beautiful concept of a mis-take.
I really appreciate the work you are doing.
thx, jack! i had that book at one point... hmmm....
here's to smiling at our mis-takes and enjoying optimalizing our lives!
Optamilization is certainly a concept worth promoting - preferably by example... so I'll drink to that.
Richard Brooke, like you, is one of those incorrigible GoGivers and those the book sells for about $25, he's still giving the ebook away. Here's the link, for the benefit of your readers http://www.richardbrooke.com/book_pdf.asp
another great video, brian, thanks for the daily wisdom!
stanford researcher carol dweck has done some fascinating research on optimalist vs. perfectionist attitude. she uses different words, but same concept...article here: http://tinyurl.com/2gl7cu
i'm amazed by how often i read new research on human behavior, only to find out that philosopher's have beaten the researchers to the punch, sometimes by a few thousand years.
keep up the great work - i am loving the tv format!
thx, chris!
isn't it funny to see the philosophers (and mystics) ahead of the curve?!? and I'm giddy to see scientists *proving* what works! so cool!
and I just printed out that article. excited to read her book!!!
appreciate your support and excited to share more!
really cool man. i can't wait to hear what you think of her work, and hope you can do a note on mindset soon!
i actually found dr. dweck's work from the bibliography of "overachievement" after reading your excellent note on that book.
i just gotta say thanks - your work keeps leading my thinking in new directions, and for that i am grateful
right on! i'm still figuring out where i'll be putting my energy in 2010 and excited about the potential of going off on more notes!
appreciate all your support and really stoked you're enjoying everything! thx for sharing.
Brian -
I love your notes! The TV presentation will really spread the info in this internet age.
You will LOVE TM - I was given that gift in '75 and have practiced it without fail since...
God Bless!
Jim
thx, jim! i'm really excited about the TV as well and hope to inspire lots of peeps!
and I'm so excited and already loving TM! love you guys who started so long ago with it! Gay and Katie Hendricks, who intro-ed us to their friend who taught us, have also been doing it for 30+ years. amazing. and inspiring!
God bless ya back and thx for your support!
-bri
Brian - I got the link from Shawn on Facebook - love the site. The quick bite-sized reviews are super handy, I love the idea (even with someone running through the frame
Moving pictures are much more fun to consume than words alone. I just found the podcast too - oh boy.
I posted some thoughts on perfectionism (the bad kind) a few months ago. It's no surprise that it (along with "overthinking") have been among my most popular posts (though that's not saying much!
http://www.refocuser.com/2009/08/11-reasons-why-p...
awesome, mike. thrilled you found us (thx, shawn!
and thx for the kind words.
off to check out your link!
You know what is helping me heal my paralyzing perfectionism (definitely the unhealthy kind)? Teaching my craft to people in a small rural village in the middle of the isolated prairie. These people aren't music theatre professionals, they're just people who love to sing and dance and act. We learn a song or a dance or lines for a scene and then they want to perform. And I immediately think "GOD NO. You aren't even remotely ready to perform this! You don't know your lines! You can hardly do that step! It'll be a disaster!!" But instead I say sure and breathe through my anxiety during the performance. And every time - EVERY TIME - there is only utter joy produced. My 'performers' shine despite their mistakes and the community that watches beams with pride.
My perfectionist mind is boggled to find that It's not about the polish...it's about the heart. Miles and miles and miles of heart;-)
This is the benefit to a sometimes challenging contract. Thanks, Brian.
love it, krista!!!!
i can feel that heart from here...
thx for sharing in your always captivating style!
Brain, if you are doing these videos in one take, how are you able to get the length of your talk so "perfectly" timed to the 10 minute mark? Do you have a big stopwatch timer on the other side of the camera that you are watching? I noticed that this video is 9:54 long. That is like near perfect in my book.
I never did have the perfectionist tendency. So I never had to recover from being a perfectionist. I just think there are things that can be done to the extent of being "good enough". And I do not need things to be perfect. I try to accept things as they are. "Average" okay in my book. I think I mentioned in previous comments that I just like to be average.
hehe. i have a stop watch clock thingy right in front of me on the table so it's just out of camera view but in my line of site! plus, I read the Notes before and identify which Big Ideas I want to make SURE I cover and then make a guess at how much time each will take then wing it. I taught 90 classes on these books when I was in Bali and I've LIVED with the content for two years, so it's pretty easy for me to riff on it and adjust the tempo to get it under 10 minutes. hehe. the harder part is that sometimes it still takes me a couple takes to get the first minute out.
love your attitude toward perfectionism and "good enough." tal ben-shahar talks about exactly this as a really healthy way to rock it. we simply can't do EVERYTHING we want to do at THE highest level! as we embrace that we find more peace, eh?!
Oh Gosh
Now what do I do?
Here's me - Live in the UK, just turned 54, have had multiple careers, a couple of goes at my own business, have read and continue to read all sorts of books on business, psychology, philosophy, watch vids on TED.com (they are completely fascinating) and find myself at something of a crossroads...
I have also read just about every book and tried just about every methodology for finding or creating my perfect life/perfect business and I'm still unclear or was up to this point.
My big love is to seek the truth, discover, innovate and understand people and business and here is someone who is actually doing it.
Is there room for another Brian Johnson? I certainly have a similar hairstyle if not the good looks!
Love the video, I will buy the philosophers notes.
Cheers from the UK
Steve
heheheheh
good news is there's ALWAYS plenty of room for the true you!
excited to see you rockin' it and here's to dismissing any sense of competition and living from a pure state of creative expression!
-bri
Brian, got my big binder yesterday and I feel like I just bought the Wisdom of the Ages in one binder to study up on the rest of my life. What else would I need? I too am entering the video thingy here soon interviewing some of the coolest most successful people on the planet. Would you be one of the first?
And I will send you another book, just in case you will find the time to look. The first must be buried in thousands of others. Richard Bliss Brooke
AWESOME!!!
would love to be interviewed, bro!
fun fun fun.
and laughing at the "buried in thousands of others." true.
Oh Gosh
Now what do I do?
Here's me - Live in the UK, just turned 54, have had multiple careers, a couple of goes at my own business, have read and continue to read all sorts of books on business, psychology, philosophy, watch vids on TED.com (they are completely fascinating) and find myself at something of a crossroads...
I have also read just about every book and tried just about every methodology for finding or creating my perfect life/perfect business and I'm still unclear or was up to this point.
My big love is to seek the truth, discover, innovate and understand people and business and here is someone who is actually doing it.
Is there room for another Brian Johnson? I certainly have a similar hairstyle if not the good looks!
Love the video, I will buy the philosophers notes.
Cheers from the UK
Steve