While this phrase is frequently heard during road trips, the attitude it encapsulates is common in many other parts of life as well. We often look to find satisfaction in the completion of the work at hand rather than along the way. In the Optimal Work Masterclass, Dr. Majeres identifies two distinct problems with this mindset. 

Repeated actions form habits, and the habits we have shape our results. For example, the habit of exercise leads to fitness, and the habit of study leads to knowledge. In examining the habits of my life, I’ve found it resourceful to play the habit forward, imagining the results that are likely to follow from keeping the habit around.

We’ve all been there. We said one thing and the person we were talking to understood something else. Or perhaps the shoe was on the other foot—we heard one thing and the person who was talking to us meant something else. These kinds of misunderstandings happen all the time. Is there anything we can do to make them less frequent? What can we do to upgrade our understanding? 

During some winter storms, precipitation can fall as rain but freeze as soon as it lands due to freezing surface temperature. A thick sheath of ice coats the trees and the surplus weight prunes them. Weak, dead branches break. Strong, healthy branches endure. 

How many books do you read a year? During the Optimal Work Masterclass, I learned from Dr. Majeres that most people don’t ever finish another book after they graduate college. I found this statistic surprising but what surprised me even more was learning that if you were to read just 15 minutes a day, you would finish 13 books per year! 

It is easy to forget that the mundane things in our lives are deeply significant. There is no such thing as insignificant work. Everything we do is rooted in and reaches toward eternity. Everything begins and ends with God. If we take the time to look, we can discover the divine thread in the seemingly dreary details.

“Vision gives significance to the otherwise meaningless details of our lives.” —Visioneering: Your Guide for Discovering and Maintaining Personal Vision by Andy Stanley

Navy Seal, Jocko Willink, says that great leaders take extreme ownership of everything in their world. Leaders who adopt the mindset of Extreme Ownership do not blame their teams for failure. They take responsibility for it and put the spotlight on themselves. They ask in what way their action or inaction may have led to the failure. Conversely, when their teams succeed, they shine the light on their teams, giving them credit for the success.   

In his book, 100 Ways to Motivate Yourself: Change Your Life Forever, Steve Chandler says the following: “Don’t take no for an answer. Take it for a question. Make the word no mean this question: “Can’t you be more creative than that?” 

Recently, I learned a fascinating thing about adrenaline in the Optimal Work Masterclass. It turns out that there are two ways that you are able to utilize adrenaline, the hormone that is secreted when you encounter a potential threat, such as a dangerous animal or a challenging exam. 

During the Prohibition Era, there was a criminal business model called a “racket.” A racket consisted of a legitimate business up front, like a bookstore, and an illegitimate business, usually a bar, in the back. The idea of a racket is used in the book The Three Laws of Performance as an analogy to explain how we can get in our own way when trying to create change.

Luke Burgis describes the career trajectory of a famous French chef and writes that the chef “kicked all the tires” of his desire to work as a chef before he fully committed to it. He did this by running tests to see how deep his desire went.

A VIGO is a simple and fruitful process that I have seen produce value in my own life and in the lives of others. I’ve seen it work in presentations before a group, in peer to peer conversations and in individual journaling.

The kinds of questions we ask determines the kinds of answers we get. And questions we ask ourselves frequently, have a powerful impact on our lives.

What kind of progress do you think a pole-vaulter would make if he always practiced by vaulting into a pad, without setting a bar? This is the analogy that Dr. Majeres, a co-founder of Optimal Work, uses to describe the way many of us approach our daily work.

The amount of attention we have to give during a day is limited. Every time you redirect your focus, you use up some of the finite attention available to you for that day.

Mark Twain is often quoted as having said, “If it's your job to eat a frog, it's best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it's your job to eat two frogs, it's best to eat the biggest one first.”