17 Dec 2025 · 4 min
Brian Johnson argues that bliss and grunt both matter: inspiration gets you started, but sustained effort compounds and creates real results. Find what you're passionate about, then do the daily work.
You're listening to the Optymyze with Brian Johnson podcast. Unlock the full Optymyze experience and join over 10,000 premium members at Optimize Me. Hi, this is Brian. Welcome back to another Optimize plus one. In our last plus one, we had fun exploring the ancient wisdom that led Joseph Campbell to tell us the follow your bliss now. Later in his career, Campbell said that he wished he'd emphasized the importance of also following your grunt. Inspiration is super important and so is hustle. Recall that in our plus one on the Science of Grit, we talked about the two facets of grit intense emphasis on intense passion and intense persistence. You have to love what you're doing, Bliss. And you have to be willing to put in the effort over a sustained period of time. Grunt. So quick, check in on that. How are you doing with each of those? How's your bliss and how's your grunt? What are you really fired up to create in your life? And what's your epic heroic quest? Fill in the blank. And what are you doing today to make that vision a reality? Yes, I'm repeating myself. What is it? We got lots of lines for that. Fantastic Bliss plus grunt equals magic. And actually in our plus one on grit, we chatted about the fact that effort counts twice. You start with natural talent and put an effort to create skills. Then you take that skill and put in more effort to actually achieve something. Effort or grunt counts twice. Therefore, let's modify our equation. Bliss plus grunt plus another grunt equals magic. Let's do this. Follow your grunt today. Isn't it a bit odd that we went from math to science to history, but but somehow missed the class on how to live? For some wacky reason, optimal living 101 never made the schedule. Of course, it's too late to go back and change that and you're too busy to read full time to catch up. But if you're like us, you're all about optimizing your life and actualizing your potential. So imagine this. Imagine having someone read the best books on how to optimize your life and pull out the big ideas that can really change your life. You know those sections you underline and asterisks and mark all up? Then imagine that guy me connecting those awesome ideas to other great books and helping you actually apply the wisdom to your life today. Well, that's what I do with something we call Philosopher's Notes, where I've distilled hundreds of great books into 20 minute super practical summaries. Then imagine me taking the absolute best big ideas from those great books and sharing them with you in hour long Optimal Living 101 classes on everything from productivity, purpose and confidence to nutrition, goal setting and conquering procrastination. Helping you optimize every facet of your life so you can actualize your potential. You've got a personal trainer. I'm kind of like your personal philosopher. Ancient wisdom plus modern science plus practical tools. That's what our optimized membership program is all about. If you're feeling it, we'd love to have you join us.
