Get Yourself Optimized®

Imagine you're on the phone with a kidnapper. Your goal is to get them to release their hostage as soon as possible. It's a life or death situation. If you say one wrong thing, it could quickly escalate and you'll have a disaster on your hands. My guest for this episode is Chris Voss. As an FBI Hostage Negotiator for over 24 years, he's been in that exact situation dozens of times. You don't operate in that kind of high-pressure environment without coming away with powerful insights on human nature and human psychology. When Chris decided to share his wisdom in a book, Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It, it was bound to be a hit. He is also the CEO of The Black Swan Group, a company that provides negotiation training for businesses, individuals and even law enforcement. The negotiation strategies that Chris has developed don't just work in hostage situations, they're applicable to business deals, sales and even internal communications. His methodology focuses on uncovering black swans or small pieces of information that can be used to achieve the desired outcome. In addition to this episode, I encourage you to listen to my wife, Orion's episode with Chris Voss on the Stellar Life podcast, episode number 137.

Our brains can hold only so much information. If you're an ambitious person like me, you probably have so many projects and ideas on the go that some things just get forgotten. It's almost like you need a second brain to keep track of everything. You might be surprised to know that you can now build a second brain. I'm not talking about some kind of AI Robot. I'm talking about an innovative system that acts like an extension of your mind. Tiago Forte is the founder of Forte Labs and a writer, speaker, and teacher who is obsessed with the future of work. He's used his background in design and technology to create a system for entrepreneurs and creatives to keep track of their ideas using Evernote. It's so effective, he's dubbed it the second brain. If you ever wished you could learn faster, work quicker, or better manage all your ideas and projects, then you'll definitely want to build a second brain. On this episode, Tiago and I will be discussing everything from productivity apps to note-taking skills and how you can leverage them to be far more productive than you are right now.

Unfortunately, tax time is upon us again. Before you take a visit to your accountant though, you're going to want to listen to this episode number 183. It might save you some money. As you probably know, the tax system has had quite a bit of shakeup 2018. A lot of people still don't know how the new tax rules will affect them. My guest isn't just a tax expert, she literally wrote the book on the new tax plan. Diane Kennedy is a New York Times bestselling author and she's going to talk about her new book, Taxmageddon 2018: How to Brace for the Trump Tax Plan. If you don't want to get slugged with a hefty tax bill, Diane is going to be revealing some amazing tax secrets about LLCs, cryptocurrency, tax credits and more. To maximize your refund, you'll also want to check out the excellent episode I did with Mike Packman, episode number 168 on Outside-The-Box Tax Strategies. Search for Mike Packman on the Get Yourself Optimized website or in your favorite podcast app.

It takes work to be your best self and reach your full potential in life. It's tempting to make excuses when things get tough. Sometimes you might even think about giving up. Then you meet someone who has achieved greatness despite incredible odds, and all your little excuses pale into insignificance. Dr. Sean Stephenson is one of those people. Sean was born with a rare bone disorder that stunted his growth. The doctors did not expect him to survive at birth. By the time he was eighteen, he had fractured his bones over 200 times. Despite this, Sean overcame the challenges to become an incredible speaker, inspiring millions, appearing on Oprah, and sharing the stage with US presidents and the Dalai Lama. Sean is not just a motivational speaker. He's one of those rare people who has become a guiding light for what's possible. On this episode, join us as we talk about everything, from the benefits of having entrepreneurial parents to self-care and attracting wealth. Sean will also reveal how a three-foot tall man can teach you a thing or two about walking tall.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average person now holds ten different jobs before the age of 40. With the rise of AI and rapid technological change, this number is likely to increase in the future. The question is how can you future proof yourself in your chosen field while avoiding self-sabotaging behavior that can derail your career or get you laid off? Our guest is Carter Cast. Carter has reinvented himself several times, starting out as marketing manager at PepsiCo, moving on to become CEO of Walmart.com, and later as a venture capitalist and professor. In his work life, he has been forced to confront some hard truths which he documented in his book, The Right and Wrong Stuff: How Careers Are Made and Unmade. Carter's formula for avoiding career disaster involves knowing yourself and your weaknesses, becoming more agile, and learning to control risky behaviors. As our work lives inevitably become less certain and more intellectually demanding, Carter's insights are essential for anyone who has long-term career or business goals.

This episode is an important episode and it probably affects people you care deeply about, including yourself. After all, we've all been through some sort of childhood trauma. They say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. As pervasive as domestic violence is, it's never okay. The victims aren't just those who were directly targeted by the perpetrators. The collateral damage always includes the kids even if their exposure was as a witness only. This is called childhood domestic violence or CDV. Our guest is Brian F. Martin, a successful entrepreneur who's been involved with many high profile brands in the executive level including Adweek where I'm a regular contributor, Pfizer, and Walmart. He's also a passionate advocate for children who've been affected by domestic violence. He founded an amazing nonprofit, the Childhood Domestic Violence Association, and shared his own harrowing story of growing up with domestic violence in the powerful book, Invincible. The foreword of that book was written by Tony Robbins who is also deeply affected by domestic violence. We'll be taking a deep look into the causes, effects, and solutions to this disturbing phenomenon. We'll also be talking about PTSD and trauma more broadly and how people can overcome negative experiences in their own lives. How do you work towards fulfillment and success? How do you blossom? If you've ever faced real adversity in your life or know someone who has, especially in their childhood, you got to read this episode.

If you run a business, you've probably considered switching to a remote workforce, and why not? There are plenty of proven benefits for both you and your employees. That's not to say there aren't some challenges. For one, it can be difficult to keep track of what your team is working on, how many hours they've worked, and if they're staying focused. My guest for this episode is Rob Rawson, a serial entrepreneur with employees and over nine different countries. That's not the only reason he's an expert in outsourcing. Rob also created Time Doctor, a time tracking program that helps your workforce easily keep track of their hours and optimize their productivity. It's so good I even use it myself for my own team. If you have an outsourced workforce or you're thinking about heading down that route, today's episode is a must-listen as we reveal the secrets of going remote and getting the most out of your employees when they're working from home. You'll never want to see an office cubicle again.

You already know that your body needs regular exercise to stay fit and healthy. What about your brain? Poor diet and lifestyle choices can make your mind flabby, lethargic and prone to disease. In order to keep your mind sharp, you need a workout routine, and maybe even a personal brain trainer. Dr. Andrew Hill's Peak Performance Institute provides just that. Using quantitative EEG or qEEG, brain mapping and neurofeedback, Dr. Hill assesses your mental abilities and then devices a unique coaching program to help you reach peak mental performance. I got to experience this brain mapping and brain training firsthand and I was so impressed, I'm going to be making his program a major part of my 2019. My amazing wife, Orion, has already experienced some great results with the program. She had Dr. Hill as a guest on her podcast, Stellar Life, episode number 141. I poached her guest for this very show, with her permission of course. I'm taking a leap here but I have a hunch you'd like to improve your focus, mood or at least your creative thinking. If that's the case, then this episode number 178 may just provide the key to unlock that potential. In addition to neurofeedback, we'll be discussing all things brain related including the power of meditation, supplements and nootropics, and why sugar is bad for mental performance. It's an episode pack-full of powerful tips for getting your brain back in shape.

Tragically, we seem to be facing an epidemic and brain diseases from autism, Alzheimer's, dyslexia, and attention deficit disorder. This didn't use to be the case. Is it environmental toxins, vaccines, some epigenetic trigger? One thing we can all agree on is that treating these disorders like ADD, ADHD, autism, Asperger's and so on with drugs from the big pharma is not ideal. What if there was another way? According to my guest for this episode, Wynford Dore, these and many other learning difficulties like dyslexia can be treated by personalized training that gets to the root of the problem rather than focusing on the symptoms. Wynford is a serial entrepreneur whose latest business sold in 2011 for a nine-figure sum, but that isn't what lights him up. He wants to change the world one brain at a time. His ventures include the withZING Brain Development Program and a world-renowned private school in England. While Wynford's work has primarily been on children with learning disabilities, many of his discoveries about learning and the brain are applicable to adults. This journey to the brain started for Wynford with his daughter's attempted suicide. Wynford had to solve his daughter's learning issues. Her life depended on it. You'll be relieved to know that she's happy and thriving now. Wynford is passionate about sharing his research team's great breakthroughs in transforming the skills lacked by those with ADHD, dyslexia, Asperger's, and autism. These methods are so good that elite athletes and sports teams are using them. If you're interested in overcoming barriers to your own learning and want to heal your brain or the brain of someone you love, join us as we take a deep dive into the brain and reveal some powerful secrets that could lead to an incredible breakthrough.

Productivity is something a lot of people dabble in. Maybe you have bought a book on the topic or tried the Pomodoro Technique or even downloaded an app to help keep you on the straight and narrow. My guest for this episode is someone who did not dabble but went all in. Chris Bailey turned down lucrative job offers and spent a year conducting rigorous experiments to find out what works and what doesn't. He documented it all in a blog that eventually became a book, The Productivity Project, which is a must own for anyone interested in the topic. It includes interviews with experts like David Allen and Charles Duhigg. His latest book, Hyperfocus, looks at how to manage your attention in a world that is filled with distractions. It is a great read with some powerful insights. One of the more alarming arguments he makes is that distraction doesn't just affect productivity. It affects our memory, our creativity, and ultimately it makes our lives less meaningful. Join us as we take a deep dive into productivity and distraction and reveal some practical secrets that will help you regain your focus and live a more productive and fulfilling life.