Lunch Break with Mike and John

We talk about the idea of setting some Mike and John 2.0 goals for the next year and we're looking for others to join us to be part of the effort and keep us accountable. We discuss some solid James Clear quotes from his newsletter. "Are we missing opportunities because they are subtle ideas and not obvious ideas." Links for James Clear: Newsletter: https://jamesclear.com/3-2-1/refer?rh_ref=1af54a32 - Link to the book (affiliate link; we may receive a small commission): Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones

We look back on our 1st year of the podcast! We talk about what we liked in the past year, and what were the highlights. And we talk about what we didn't like.  There are 16 weeks left in the year. So, what if we lost 1 lb. per week until December 31st? We are going to try this, to lose 1 lb. per week! And there is the Final Thought.

Whew, we really start to get kind of vulnerable here. After kicking off with a little bit of a success recap for the week, Mike and John get into the concept of what direction we have taken, or actually, the lack of direction we have.  We discuss a video from Terri Trespicio about Passion in one's career. She claims, contrary to many career coaches, that people should not follow their passions. The video is titled "Stop searching for your passion"  (Terri Trespicio | TEDxKC from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MBaFL7sCb8) We also discuss a Japanese concept to improve work and life called "ikigai", which looks for the intersection of what you love, and what you're good at, and what the world needs, with what you can get paid for. It’s a term that embodies the idea of happiness in living, and, "Essentially, ikigai is the reason why you get up in the morning." We cap the episode with two Final Thoughts!

Last week, Mike and John discussed willpower and self-discipline, which are at times considered synonymous even though they really aren't. In this episode, they delve into willpower more fully. The topic involves a video by author and Stanford professor Kelly McGonigal.  The video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5BXuZL1HAg) was a presentation that the author gave to the employees at Google back in 2012. McGonigal is the author of the book "The Willpower Instinct". While Mike and John can't say that the presentation faithfully follows the book, it appears that the video distills a lot of the information from the book. Very likely though, the book provides WAY more detail than can be seen in this video. If you'd like to purchase the book, here is a link (affiliate link, we will receive a small commission): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E2ROMHE/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=kindmathgame-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B00E2ROMHE&linkId=90beacfb620811da3c43cf3abd037995 At the end, as usual, we give the Final Thought. Song : Sand River - Guitar Version [Royalty Free] Music provided and produced by LonePeakMusic Video Link : https://youtu.be/QucZi66cjWo 

Check out our latest post at The Proverbial Contradiction, or, “John, you’re an idiom” (Episode 41) – Lunch Break with Mike and John. Please leave us a comment. We thank one of our guests, Jessica, for referencing our podcast in her most recent newsletter. Thanks Jessica! You can find Jessica on instagram at @thereaders.edit, or you can read her blog at thereadersedit.com. Mike and John discuss some contradictory proverbs and idioms from a recent Reddit post titled Proverbs, idioms, and clichés that contradict one another. Compiled by my friend. : r/coolguides More specifically, you can review the idioms here: jnffswr3jtd71.jpg We transition to a principle known as Hanlon's Razor. You can find some more information on this topic here. Finally, the Final Thought: "The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away."

The topic of the Collector's Fallacy really struck a chord with some of our listeners that we decided to speak a little more about the topic. John digs into how the fallacy has affected him and what he's going to do about this. We briefly discuss Simone Biles news and the 'pressure to be perfect". We wrap, as always, with a Final Thought.

Mike and John discuss the potential procrastinator's tool called the Collector's Fallacy. Is this really something that affects people? Then we put one final touch on the DietBet Challenge. And we wrap up with the Final Thought.

We're Done! John and Mike have completed the 6 month DietBet Transformer Challenge, and we give the results. We knew we were close, so...did we make it? There's also talk about tasks and Big Rocks, before we go into the Final Thought(s).

There really IS something to the content by David Allen, BJ Fogg, Stephen Covey and others. They are all really hitting upon something important, ad today wee dive deep into Covey's "Big Rocks" concept. John mentions how his blood pressure project is going. Then we discuss concepts of resistance and friction, in terms of trying to improve ourselves. DietBet update is next, and then, Final Thoughts!

Mike and John examine recent challenges and try to figure out what's going on lately. Are we stuck or are we making progress? John mentions his efforts related to improving blood pressure. We give an update on the DietBet, and then there are the Final Thoughts.

Show notes for this episode include: Celebrate a success, talk about a win (and listeners, we want to hear about your wins!). John gives an update on his experiment with video creation. We talk about the DietBet challenge update before Mike gives the Final Thoughts

Mike and John talk about the current content of the podcast, and decide upon a future possibility to expand to video. It's not that the podcasts will stop, but there may be a video channel to be created and used to supplement our content creation. We have our DietBet update. The DietBet end is near! And finally, the fFinal Thought(s).

So much talk last week about Saboteurs from the Positive Intelligence, that we thought we could proceed a little more safely in the book by author Judith S. Beck, Ph.D. The book, titled The Beck Diet Solution: Train Your Brain to Think Like a Thin Person (affiliate link), is an excellent resource for both Mike and John. It's so well targeted and planned out, it's basically the easiest pathway we've seen to resetting our thoughts for weight loss. We also have an update on our DietBet Challenge, and there's also the Final Thought.

Mike and John start to wrap up the topic of self sabotage, a force that affects many people to some degree (some more than others!). We do so by discussing the book titled Positive Intelligence: Why Only 20% of Teams and Individuals Achieve Their True Potential and How You Can Achieve Yours  John details the saboteurs as well as the Sages that each of us have available to use. We also have the DietBet update, and our Final Thought

We are broadcasting live on Clubhouse, so you can join us on air!  On our path to being more productive, and to eliminate procrastination, Mike and John are finding friction and resistance as we fight to improve. The term "productive procrastination" is thrown into the dialogue. And we start taking a deep dive into the concept of "self sabotage". We are going to have to address this more in the future. Plus the latest news on our DietBet Challenge, and the Final Thought.

Episode 30! YAY!  So Mike and John really open up and show their vulnerable sides here. The struggles are real. Barriers and constraints are evident. But they are breaking through. There's the DietBet update. And a good segment on the Final Thought portion of this podcast.

Have we done enough research behind discipline, habits and motivation? Perhaps we have! So, it's time to start DOING! John talks about beginning his action to start doing something by joining Clubhouse. (If you don't know what Clubhouse is, we do explain, but you can find info here: What Is Clubhouse? The Invite-Only Chat App Explained | PCMag) If you want to receive an invite to Clubhouse, please email/DM us and we can send you the invitation! Clubhouse seems like it's going to be quite successful, but you have to be careful as you could spend too much time in too many Clubhouse rooms. Next, john is going to start expanding his skillset with video. The first project is going to be a short workout video. To start, he's going to use KDEN  Live. Mike details his plan for increasing activity and tracking his actions. And for his review of tracking aps, he's got Strides, Way of Life and Momentum. If you have any insight on the best tracking, please let us know. For the DietBet update, it's becoming a greater challenge. Mike is improving, and to a degree, back on track. John is still close, but he's not reached the goal just yet.  Related to the DietBet Challenge, Mike discovers a book that might help both of our weight loss plans. The book is by Judith S. Beck, called The Beck Diet Solution. Finally, we have our Final Thought.

This is it, the final #MarchMadness of Motivation competition! And we had with us a special guest, John's son Alex. (Thank you, so much Alex, for joining us, and helping us out!) For the #Motivation competition, @GaryVee faced @RealLesBrown in the final match. You'll have to listen to see the final winner, but is was CLOSE! I mean, it was thisclose! So close, that we had to have Alex as the tie breaker in the decision! In this final matchup, the motivational sppeches were: One of the Greatest Speeches Ever | Les Brown (https://youtu.be/NQ4en7o8B-g) vs.  A 5 Minute Plea To Do | Gary Vee (https://youtu.be/OIO0nMY4X3U) These were both AMAZING! But only one speech can win. Listen and find out who we chose. And, we have some excellent in-depth analysis into WHY we chose our favorite. Also, John mentioned a song writer, Jonathan Mann, who wrote his own Scientific 7 Minute Workout Video with Songs (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LezARmLDu6U&t=104s) Plus, we have another month of DietBet updates, along with our Final Thought.

Details We take the top four motivational speeches from our last episode, and determine who the winners are for the finals! Mike’s Bracket: Why it Pays to Be Hungry | Les Brown's Best Motivational Speech | Goalcast https://youtu.be/xFr0FKnaLDk vs. This One Hack Will Help You Take Control of Your Brain | Mel Robbins https://youtu.be/LCHPSo79rB4 John’s Bracket Gary Vee (Vaynerchuk)  Winner Quarter Final Video - https://youtu.be/uDJUB2ZnBGA - 85% of People Hate Their Jobs. If You're One of Them, Watch This. | Gary Vaynerchuk Original Film Semi Final video - https://youtu.be/OIO0nMY4X3U - **A 5 Minute Plea To Do Tony Robbins  Quarter Final Video - https://youtu.be/lEL-y1W1jjg - Tony Robbins: KEEP PUSHING HARDER (Tony Robbins Best Motivational Speech) Semi Final Video - https://youtu.be/UFKCLjhO2bo - LISTEN TO THIS EVERYDAY AND CHANGE YOUR LIFE - Tony Robbins Motivational Speech Semi Final Results: - Gary for his ability to kick your butt into action and motivate you in a short video.  Tony gets high points for helping you figure out how to do it on a regular basis.

We're excited that March Madness is here, and there's lots of college hoops to watch. In keeping with the brackets, we decided to have some of the BEST motivational speakers go head to head. These speakers, and their best speeches, will have to fight hard to survive and get to the next round. For our brackets, we have:  John's "Eastern Conference" Bracket, in the 1st Round we have: Gary Vee @GaryVee (WINNER!) -------------------------------- https://youtu.be/uDJUB2ZnBGA 85% of People Hate Their Jobs. If You're One of Them, Watch This. | Gary Vaynerchuk Original Film vs. Eckhart Tolle @EckhartTolle -------------------------------- https://youtu.be/yltxmm90N5g Eckhart Tolle - Living Your True Purpose and https://youtu.be/zIzbVUyujwc Eckhart Tolle - What's my Purpose? Tony Robbins @TonyRobbins (WINNER!) -------------------------------- https://youtu.be/lEL-y1W1jjg Tony Robbins: KEEP PUSHING HARDER (Tony Robbins Best Motivational Speech) vs. Jordan Peterson @JordanBPeterson -------------------------------- https://youtu.be/8hTSK1iDcvQ Incredible Motivational Speech By Jordan Peterson In Mike's "Western Conference" Bracket, in the 1st Round we have: Deepak Chopra @DeepakChopra -------------------------------- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZugkZug1a0&t=157s 10 Rules for Success (ALL Successful People Are TAPPING Into DEEPER INTELLIGENCE!  vs. Les Brown @RealLesBrown (WINNER!) -------------------------------- https://youtu.be/NQ4en7o8B-g One of the Greatest Speeches Ever | Les Brown Mel Robbins @MelRobbins (WINNER!) -------------------------------- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lp7E973zozc How to stop screwing yourself over | Mel Robbins | TEDxSF vs. Gretchen Rubin @GretchenRubin -------------------------------- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBNEVXg2CNU The 4 Ways to Successfully Adopt New Habits