Brian Johnson on Peter Drucker's insight that great people have sharp strengths and weaknesses. Lincoln tolerated Grant's drinking because Grant won battles. Lean into what you're good at and make weaknesses irrelevant, unless the weakness is character.
Hi, this is Brian. Welcome back to another Optimize plus one. Peter Drucker tells us that all great people have great weaknesses. Where there are peaks, there are valleys. The best among us, he says, know that they can't be great or even good at everything. And they don't try to become well rounded people. He says that's a sure path to mediocrity. Instead, we want to lean into our strengths so hard that that we make our weaknesses irrelevant. To bring the point home, he shares a story about Abraham Lincoln and his leadership of Ulysses S. Grant. Grant was the first general who was willing to actually fight for the Union. This was exactly what Lincoln had been looking for and it was a great strength. Now, Grant also liked to drink a lot. Oops. Weakness. Lincoln's response to this weakness. He said, if I knew his brand, I'd send a barrel to all my generals. Peaks, valleys. Great people have them. So do all of us. And when I read that story about Lincoln and his general who liked his whiskey, I thought of a modern duo, Jimmy Iovini and Dr. Dre. In the jaw droppingly inspiring documentary the Defiant Ones, we get a behind the scenes look at their creative process. At one point, the two are getting ready to sell beats to Apple for a couple billion dollars. It's still a top secret confidential deal and as we know, no deal is done till it's done. Then Dr. Dre busts open a barrel of Grant's favorite whiskey, celebrating the deal with his friends, and creates a little video that goes viral. Oops. Iovini sees the video, he maintains his equanimity and he says, that's the horse I rode in on. Peaks, Valleys. We all have them. So today's +1. What are your strengths? What are the things that you're really good at? What can you do relatively easily that most people can't do at all? Lean in so hard that you make your weaknesses irrelevant. Quit trying to be good at everything and choose to be great at at being you. Little important note here, the only weaknesses that we do need to take care of if they exist, character and integrity issues. If you're wobbly with your integrity, work on it. Otherwise, double down in your strengths every single time. Isn't it a bit odd that we went from math to science to history, 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 so you can actualize 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 an asterisk 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, modern science and 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.
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