17 Dec 2025 · 4 min
Brian Johnson retells the farmer and his horse parable to show how events aren't inherently good or bad, just what they are. Our response to what happens is what makes the difference.
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From Latin 'optimus', meaning 'the best'.
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. Once upon a time, in a land far away, there was an old farmer. Now this farmer had a horse. Then one day his horse ran away and all the neighbors said, God, that's such a bummer. What bad luck. The man said, maybe it is what it is. Then one day the horse returned and lo and behold, the horse brought along a bunch of wild stallions with him. All the neighbors said, wow, that's incredible. What good luck. The man said, maybe it is what it is. At this point in the story, I should mention that the man also had a son. Now this son was pretty excited about the new horses, especially one particularly wild stallion he wanted to ride. So he hops up on the horse and wham. He gets slammed to the ground and breaks his leg. All the neighbors say, oh man, what bad luck. I can't believe that happened. Now your son can't work in the fields. That's really bad. The man said, maybe it is what it is. Then one day the army came marching into the small village. There was a war and the king demanded that all able bodied young men join them in their battle. Our man's son with the broken leg was spared. And all the neighbors said, wow, your son has been saved. What good luck. The man said, well, at this stage, you know what the man said. And today's plus one is how do you respond to life's events? Is it all either good or bad? Or perhaps, is it just what it is? P.S. shakespeare must have had this Zen story in mind when he had Hamlet say that there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so. Hey, this is Brian with a quick question for you. Do you know what the word optimize literally means? It's from the Latin optimus, which means the best. In our case, we're talking about helping you create the best version of you. So another quick question. What's the best version of you look like? How does that version of you show up in the world? Helping you be that version of yourself all day, every day is what our optimized membership program is all about. Now, we obviously give away a ton of content for free and we give our 10,000 plus premium members a ton more. Members get hundreds of philosopher's notes, which are 20 minute book summaries that help you apply the best big ideas from the best Optimal Living books to your life today. Plus members get dozens of hour long Optimal Living 101 masterclasses, more wisdom in less time for your busy life on everything from the science of setting and achieving goals, how to optimize your energy via the fundamentals of nutrition, movement, sleep and meditation, and how to be super productive day in and day out. While of course enjoying the whole process. Every facet of your life optimized equals you at your absolute best.
