17 Dec 2025 · 2 min
Brian Johnson on prioritization: Peter Drucker said put first things first and ignore second things. Michael Phelps' coach asked him "What's important now?" to focus on micro-wins instead of the whole race.
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Hi, this is Brian. Welcome back to another Optimize plus one. One of Stephen Covey's seven habits of highly effective people is first things first. He also wrote a book by the same name, but you know where he got that phrase? Peter Drucker. It was Drucker who said, put first things first. And you know what he said we should do with the second things? He said we should ignore them. Specifically, he said, first things first and second things not at all. He also said, if there is one secret of effectiveness, it is concentration. Effective executives do first things first, and they do one thing at a time. Fact is, in any given moment, there is only one most important thing to do, and that's what the best among us do over and over and over and over again. Of course, this doesn't just apply to executives. How about one of the greatest athletes of all time, Michael Phelps. Phelps is the most decorated Olympian in history. Over the span of five Olympics, which in itself is an epic achievement, he won 28 medals, 23 of them gold. It's crazy. In his great book, no Limits, he tells us about one of the secrets to his success he learned from his coach, Bob Bowman. It's a very simple question that happens to form a very powerful word. What's important now? W I n win. What's important now?
Micro win.
How about now?
Micro win. And now? Micro win.
Over and over and over and over again. He created little micro wins all day, every day, during his training and before his races. And, well, those micro wins added up to a ton of big wins. So how about that as a guiding question for you today? What's important now? And to be clear, this doesn't mean working all the time or obsessively grinding in any aspect of our lives. It means seeing the big picture and knowing when the most important thing is not working, but rather turning off your technology so you can connect with your family or your highest self. That's true winning. Remember, first things first, second things? Not at all.
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 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 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 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.
