one key concept: being aware and honest about what was most important to them. (Location 208)
Knowing what matters to you brings clarity to your decision making and enables you to then do the really important work of saying no to many (maybe even most) things and focusing your attention and energy exclusively on the things that matter most to you. (Location 210)
The idea of a “willpower muscle” is partly based on our understanding of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), a little C-shaped part of your brain right by your temple. (Location 259)
decision fatigue: the more decisions you make, the worse your judgment becomes. (Location 265)
You can build your “willpower muscle” the same way you strengthen any muscle in your body: by doing hard things you don’t want to do. (Location 280)
When you successfully do the things you don’t want to do, everything else seems easier by comparison. (Location 283)
Words are powerful. They set expectations and limits and send messages to our brains and even our bodies about how much we are capable of. Language is a part of your mental software. Use it consciously and with precision, and you will achieve things you probably never thought you could. (Location 439)
WEASEL WORD 1: CAN’T (Location 456)
WEASEL WORD 2: NEED (Location 477)
WEASEL WORD 3: BAD (Location 499)
WEASEL WORD 4: TRY (Location 510)
Set your computer’s autocorrect to automatically capitalize or highlight weasel words so you’ll have to change them to more truthful words. (Location 526)
Your beliefs directly impact the outcome of your efforts, so it is essential to swap out your negative beliefs so you can reach your potential or surpass what you presently believe is your potential. (Location 590)
Improve your fluid intelligence by doing Dual N-Back training. I recommend the Dual N-Back app by Mikko Tyrskeranta on the iTunes and Android stores. (Location 770)
It’s important to make sure that your visualizations are in 3-D. Those images last longer in the brain than one-dimensional images do. (Location 813)
The next time you listen to a podcast or an audiobook, close your eyes and see if you can imagine the pictures that the speaker is trying to draw in your head. (Location 838)
LSD can actually power up your brain. It increases the production of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a powerful protein that stimulates your production of brain cells and strengthens existing ones.10 (Location 930)
Other psychedelics, such as mushrooms and ayahuasca (a shamanic brew from South America containing dimethyltryptamine [DMT], which we will discuss later), also raise BDNF. (Location 934)
The best studied one is piracetam, but the most effective racetam nootropics I’ve found are aniracetam and phenylpiracetam. I like aniracetam more than piracetam because it is fast acting, reduces stress, and increases your ability to get things into and out of your memory. (Location 993)
When I take 800 milligrams of aniracetam, I find I speak more fluently and don’t ever grasp for words. This effect is likely due to the fact that the racetam family improves mitochondrial function and sends extra oxygen to the brain. (Location 997)
Have you ever seen the movie Limitless with Bradley Cooper? It’s loosely based on modafinil. (Location 1010)
Modafinil improves memory and mood, reduces impulsive decision making, increases your resistance to fatigue, and even improves your brain function when you are suffering from lack of sleep. (Location 1018)
Modafinil does not mix well with alcohol. You can buy modafinil online from India without a prescription from a US doctor, and most of it is real. (Location 1035)
Consider trying aniracetam or phenylpiracetam, the entry-level, very safe, quasi-pharmaceutical smart drugs. (Location 1100)
Consider a plant-based nootropic to see how it makes you perform. There is real science behind plant-based compounds for cognitive enhancement, but it would take a whole book to write about them all. (I recommend Bulletproof’s Smart Mode because I formulated it, but there are many.) (Location 1101)
Learn the Ujjayi breath—instructions are at www.bulletproof.com/ujjayi. (Location 1344)
Throughout his study of fear, Ravé discovered that all negative emotions—anger, jealousy, insecurity, guilt, shame, and greed—are rooted in fear, while all positive emotions—confidence, grace, humility, courage, gratitude—are rooted in trust. (Location 1383)
Ravé says that all three pillars—time, attachment, and expectation—have to be active for fear to exist. If you knock down even one of them, fear will get up as that lion did and quietly walk away. (Location 1423)
I teach them about what we call the “emotional stack.” Apathy and shame lie at the bottom of the stack. This is the least conscious state you can be in. Above apathy and shame is sadness, above sadness are anger and pride, above anger and pride is fear, and above that fear sit happiness and freedom. Here is a diagram to help you remember. Happiness and Freedom Fear Anger and Pride Sadness Apathy and Shame (Location 1471)
try journaling. Write down a failure, not just a misfortune, and recognize that it means you pushed yourself. Congratulate (Location 1502)
Get rejected on purpose! Try a week of rejection therapy—ask for things you think you won’t get every single day until you hear “no.” You’ll quickly learn that people desperately want to help others when given the chance. People are awesome. (Location 1504)
single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) (Location 1519)
SPECT is a nuclear medicine technique. Whereas CT scans and MRIs are anatomical techniques that show what brain structures look like physically, SPECT reveals what’s happening in your brain by mapping your blood flow and activity, revealing the areas of your brain that “light up” when performing certain tasks or experiencing particular emotions. (Location 1520)
Dr. Pollack discovered that there is actually a biologically important fourth state of water that is between a solid and a liquid. This fourth state of water is highly viscous, kind of like honey. It’s called exclusion zone (EZ) water. (Location 1573)
The more EZ water we have in our bodies, the better our cells are able to function. (Location 1581)
Dr. Pollack has found that infrared light, natural sunlight, and vibration all create more of this type of water. (Location 1582)
When you mix butterfat (ghee) into water, it creates a huge amount of EZ water. (Location 1585)
So from day 6 to day 12, a woman is more hormonally inclined to want to have sex. John calls this period around ovulation the “love window.” (Location 1987)
John suggests that a male partner plan a special date right at the beginning of the “love window.” If a woman feels cared for, her body will release estrogen; if a male partner feels good about meeting her needs, his body will release testosterone. (Location 1996)
John recommends having sex once every seven days to optimize both men’s and women’s hormone levels. That means no masturbation, no porn, none of that—just abstinence all week and then sex on the seventh day. (Location 2004)
ancient Chinese Taoists—some of the world’s original biohackers—recommended transforming sexual energy into immortality. They even had a formula for how often men should ejaculate to maintain youthfulness: (Your age – 7) / 4 That yields your ideal number of days between ejaculations. (Location 2031)
If you are a man, see if John’s testosterone comments ring true for you. If you are with a woman, ask her when her love window starts, and set up a date! (Location 2091)
Chart your sexual activity along with your overall life satisfaction to see how your orgasms affect your energy, happiness, and productivity. (Location 2092)
If you are a man, boost your testosterone level by having less frequent orgasms, doing high-intensity exercise, reducing your sugar intake, increasing your intake of healthy fats, and even (nicely) retreating from your partner when necessary. (Location 2093)
Ask yourself what you really want in the bedroom and ask your partner for it, even if it’s scary. (Location 2204)
Think about how you can stop making sex routine and introduce an element of the unknown to your lovemaking. The result is likely to be a more powerful connection with your partner and perhaps an otherworldly experience. (Location 2205)
Our brains aren’t equipped to handle the kind of stimulation that online porn viewers now have constant and unlimited access to. Your brain responds to porn much as it does to cocaine, alcohol, or sugar, with a big rush of pleasure and diminishing returns over time.13 And just as with addictive drugs, porn seems to cause a tolerance to dopamine, meaning you require more and more of it to feel the same effects.14 (Location 2229)
Try quitting porn for a month; if it’s difficult to do, quit it for another month. (Location 2260)
Prioritize calming your limbic system through regular meditation, orgasmic meditation, or regular orgasms with a partner. (Location 2261)
simple hack is to use black tape (or special dots designed to look better) to cover all the lights in your bedroom so it is completely dark. (Location 2387)
I also recommend wearing TrueDark glasses before bed; these use layered optical filters to block every known spectrum of light that interferes with sleep, far beyond “blue blocker” glasses. (Full (Location 2388)
Figure out your chronotype by going to sleep and waking up when you feel like it for a week (Location 2397)
Consider red-light LED therapy such as Joovv before bed and in the morning—it (Location 2398)
Start tracking your sleep to find out if you’re waking up at night without realizing it. Adjust the incline of your bed so that your head is elevated 10 to 30 degrees. Get an awesome mattress (without flame retardants or formaldehyde). Try sleeping on a thin, hard foam pad for a month (I recommend 1-inch-thick high-quality neoprene in 80-by-48-inch sheets, which cost about $150). Experiment with a bite guard that helps position your jaw properly. Try Night Shift if you believe you are suffering from sleep apnea. At the very least, stop sleeping on your back! (Location 2510)
Take a lesson from the leaves: if you are still too much, sit too much, and don’t move, you will wither and die; but if you move naturally and freely, you will flourish. (Location 2752)
Lift heavy things once a week. Stretch twice a week. Sprint once a week. Walk or do slow cardio for twenty to sixty minutes three to six times a week. (Location 2753)
Don’t eat vegetable oils such as soy, corn, or canola, especially in restaurants. Use saturated fat (butter, lard, ghee, coconut oil, Brain Octane oil, or MCT oil) instead. Use olive oil on finished dishes, not for cooking. (Location 3049)
Adjust your diet if you get hungry within five hours of eating. (Location 3051)
Order a Viome test, the best way to see what your food is doing to your gut bacteria: www.viome.com. (Location 3052)
Get adequate but not excessive protein from healthy animals or high-leucine vegetables, about 0.5 grams per pound of body weight, or up to 0.8 grams if you are looking to build muscle. (Location 3053)
Eat a lot more herbs, spices, coffee, tea, chocolate, and colored veggies to get more polyphenols. Consider a high-quality supplement to get even more. (I use Polyphenomenal because I created it!) (Location 3054)
Today, 75 percent of the antibiotics manufactured in the United States are fed to cattle for precisely this reason: it fattens them up for slaughter and enables farmers to save money on feed. (Location 3085)
artificial sugars also dramatically reduce the diversity of gut bacteria, which explains why people who drink diet soda have higher rates of obesity even though they don’t consume any extra calories. (Location 3088)
In short: it’s not about the calories; it’s about the microbiome. (Location 3090)
In 2016, scientists analyzed the fecal microbiota (poop) of thirty-nine healthy participants who were similar in age, body mass index, and diet but had varying cardiovascular fitness levels. They found that the participants with higher levels of cardiovascular fitness had greater biodiversity. (Location 3092)
Consider a Viome test from www.viome.com/bulletproof to see what’s growing in your gut and what tweaks you can make in your diet. (Location 3131)
telomeres, the protective end caps on your DNA that shield your chromosomes from damage when they replicate. As you get older, your telomeres shorten and are less able to protect your DNA. (Location 3148)
Cover your bases by taking these supplements: vitamin D3, vitamin K2, vitamin A, magnesium, krill oil/omega-3, copper, zinc, iodine, tyrosine, and methyl vitamin B12 with methyl folate. Supplement with polyphenols extracted from plants. Consider seeing a functional medicine doctor to get your nutrient levels tested. Look for supplement formulas designed to deliver the results you’re seeking, and try them to see if they work for you. Recommended (Location 3222)
Track your sleep using a sleep tracker such as the Oura ring. Do less intense training or fasting on days when you slept like crap the night before, and go hard on the days when you’re at full power. If you don’t have a sleep tracker, use your onboard sensors instead. On a sheet of paper rate your sleep on a scale of 1 to 10 when you first wake up. Base the score on how good you feel, how stiff you are, how anxious you are, and how easy it was to wake up. Stop using toys to track the number of steps you take per day or fictional “calories burned” metrics. They distract you from the useful data you want: heart rate, heart rate variability, temperature, and sleep quality. Knowing those will change your life. If it’s in your budget, a full panel of health metrics from your functional medicine doctor is a great investment. Ask for all hormones, full thyroid, inflammation markers, and nutrient analysis, plus whatever else your doctor thinks is helpful. (Location 3381)
Have your poop tested by Viome (www.viome.com) to see what is going on in your gut. (Location 3388)
Switch to high-intensity interval training (either sprints or heavy lifting) followed by high-quality recovery and sleep to see more returns on less exercise. When your data show that you are stressed, avoid putting additional stress on your body. When you have exceeded your stress threshold, recover like a boss. Consider IV nutrients. Get a massage. Try cryotherapy. Go to a sauna. Watch a movie! (Location 3430)
Shake less, hug more. Physical contact stimulates oxytocin release. Schedule a massage to raise your oxytocin. Videoconference instead of calling when you can. Take the time to meet face-to-face when you can. (Location 3825)
It’s comfortable to be with people who think like you. Everyone agrees with you, so you feel safe, but you’re not being challenged. When you are faced with something you disagree with, you have an opportunity to grow. (Location 3898)
Set goals that reflect your desire to impact the world in a way that’s ten times greater than you are now. Ask yourself whom you want to be a hero to and what those people need. This will help you determine your moon shot—your big, bold goal. Actively seek out people who challenge you to think differently and bigger, and spend more time with them. (Location 3919)
Ask yourself how happy you are in your current relationship. If it’s making you miserable, it is hindering your performance. Either invest in fixing it or redirect your energy elsewhere. (Location 3985)
10% Happier meditation app from Dan Harris at www.10percenthappier.com. Energy For Success meditation from Dr. Barry Morguelan at www.energyforsuccess.com (it’s playing in the background as I type this). For the first month, commit to doing at least five minutes of meditation every day. More is better. Just build the habit, and you’ll naturally find the right type and amount for you. Recommended (Location 4094)
To practice the balancing breath, use the thumb and ring finger of your right hand. Gently press your right nostril closed with your thumb and exhale completely through your left nostril. Then inhale completely through the left nostril and close your left nostril with your ring finger. Release your thumb and exhale completely through the right nostril. Then inhale completely through the right nostril. Continue this pattern on each side, ideally ending the same way you started, with an exhale through the left nostril. Emily says to do this fast if you’re feeling tired and need a hit of energy to focus; do it slowly if you’re feeling amped up or nervous and need to relax. It’s also a good way to ease yourself into meditating. (Location 4153)
Practice a “balancing breath” for a few minutes a day, ideally before meditating. (Location 4170)
Light-sound goggles blink lights outside your closed eyes to help you achieve a different brain state faster while meditating. (Location 4226)
Measure or train your heart rate variability. I use HeartMath for training and the Oura ring for monitoring my HRV while I’m asleep. (Location 4251)
Try other meditation hacks, for example light-sound goggles, Bill Harris’s Centerpointe soundtracks, and/or TrueDark twilight glasses (disclosure: I helped to start TrueDark and am an investor). Do whatever it takes. There is value in unassisted meditation, but the tech will help you get it faster. (Location 4252)
Recently, scientists have discovered mysterious cell structures called microtubules that are required for you to build new mitochondria and move them around in neurons,1 and it turns out that EZ water is essential to movement within microtubules. (Location 4333)
You get EZ water naturally when you drink raw vegetable juices, fresh spring water, or glacial melt water, and it forms spontaneously when regular water is vibrated or blended. Recent research by Dr. Pollack shows that even more EZ water forms when you blend butterfat into water. Better yet, EZ water forms in your cells when you expose your skin (and your eyes, the gateways to the brain) to unfiltered sunlight for a few minutes every day without sunglasses, clothing, or sunscreen. (Location 4336)
If exposure to natural light is not an option, try to find an indoor full-spectrum light that emits at least 2,500 lux (lux is a unit of light) without using LED lights. Set your lights at eye level and angle them away from your direct field of vision. As with the sun, don’t look directly at it. You want to expose your eyes without frying your retinas. Start at just five or ten minutes of exposure a day, depending on your light’s power, and work your way up to no more than sixty minutes. Make sure to follow the manufacturer’s directions. Protect your eyes from excessive UV light. (Location 4410)
the more you practice gratitude, the more you will default to positivity instead of negativity. (Location 4530)
Stop putting yourself into a stressed state by anticipating problems before they occur (worrying). If you sense this happening, work on going to your “happy place.” (Location 4606)
Do something kind for someone else every day to improve your vagal tone. (Location 4607)
Speak in a calming, more soothing voice when you want to turn off the fight-or-flight response in yourself or others. Listen to high-energy music when you need the energy—but if you’re already stressed, focus on music with calm voices. (Location 4611)
Forgive with the same intensity you bring to your mission in life, and you will access new levels of energy and happiness. (Location 4622)
At its core, forgiveness lets you stop carrying other people’s grudges. You have more important things to carry. (Location 4645)
For instance, if someone on the phone appears to be very curt and rude to you, don’t assume that he or she has some personal vendetta against you and that he or she is trying to ruin your day. Maybe he’s just hungry. Maybe she needs to go to the bathroom and her boss won’t let her take a break until the next hour clicks through. Choosing a positive story enables gratitude and therefore forgiveness for a small slight, but if you retreat into a story that fosters self-pity, you’re not going to like your life. (Location 4670)
As Tony says, “If you can just divorce the story of your limitation and marry the truth of your unlimited capacity, then the whole game changes.” (Location 4679)
Make a list of people or things you hold a grudge toward: _____________________, _____________________, _____________________, _____________________, _____________________, _____________________, _____________________, _____________________, _____________________ Those grudges are costing you energy, causing you pain, and not affecting the other party at all. Find gratitude and seek forgiveness for everyone on this list, and watch your limits fall away. (Location 4690)
Don’t leave gratitude to chance. Take advantage of simple, effective tools to build gratitude into your day the same way you build in exercise or healthy food. Gratitude is a muscle. Exercise it. (Location 4703)
answering these questions first thing in the morning allowed him to take advantage of the primacy effect, the idea that doing something as soon as you wake up has a disproportionate effect on your entire day. (Location 4714)
Tony says he spends just three minutes thinking about three things he’s grateful for and visualizing each one of them in great sensory detail. For example, instead of thinking “I’m grateful for that roller coaster over there,” Tony mentally puts himself into the front seat and feels himself going over the edge, becoming completely present in the visualization of the thing he is grateful for. He also makes sure that at least one of his three things is something really simple, such as the wind on his face or his child’s smile, to train himself to be grateful for the little things in his life. After doing this for three minutes, Tony does a three-minute blessing, during which he imagines life, God, or energy coming into his body, healing every muscle and nerve, and strengthening his passion, love, generosity, creativity, and humor. Then he visualizes any problem he’s facing as being solved. Once he feels that fully, he imagines a circle of energy around himself, his intimate family, and his friends. Then he continues the circle all the way out to his clients and imagines them being healed, getting what they want, and having the lives they deserve. Last, he thinks of three specific outcomes that matter to him, and instead of thinking about achieving them, he sees, feels, and experiences them as done and imagines the impact that completing them would have. He sees people’s lives being touched and experiences their joy, and he feels grateful. This entire practice should take about ten minutes, but Tony says that he often lets it go for fifteen or twenty minutes because he’s having such a good time. (Location 4730)
TAKE A GRATITUDE WALK Go for a walk (bonus points if you get some sunshine at the same time), and pay close attention to everything you see and experience. Notice all the beauty, the feeling of each step in the soles of your feet. This will calm your mind and foster gratitude. Focus on the feeling that gratitude creates in your body, and enjoy it. (Location 4777)
PRACTICE COMBINING GRATITUDE AND FORGIVENESS You can carry around a lot of stress—even unconsciously—from anger and hurt. To practice a combination of gratitude and forgiveness, write down something that has hurt you, or maybe just acknowledge some of your anger or pain. Feel the negative emotion, think of a way the situation that caused it benefited you or shaped you into who you are today, and let go of the negativity. Forgiveness has a profound effect on boosting your alpha brain waves—those associated with a calm, focused mental state. I guarantee that spending more time in that state will be a game changer for you. (Location 4783)