A short podcast episode (+1) by Brian Johnson (Jan 20, 2019) reflecting on how aligning talents and passions with the right domain enables excellence. Using Michael Phelps as an example, Johnson highlights both Phelps’ extraordinary physical attributes (e.g., 6'4" height, unusually long wingspan, and a 30" inseam) and intense effort, then urges listeners to choose the "pool" where their strengths and passions best fit and to build habits there.
You're listening to Optymyze with Brian Johnson. More wisdom in less time.
Hi, this is Brian. Welcome back to another Optimize plus one. In our last plus one, we took a nice stroll down Brian's biographical byway, exploring the power of flipping identity switches. You make any distinctions, flip any switches. By the way, that Seneca quote with which we wrapped up, that plus one always knocks my socks off. He says it is not because things are difficult that you do not dare. It is because you do not dare that things are difficult. Today I want to go back to Atomic habits and explore an idea that didn't make it into the know. It has to do with Michael Phelps and his genes and and how they impacted his pants inseam length and how that affected his Olympic greatness. Get this. At this stage, we all know that Phelps is one of the greatest athletes of all time. He's won more gold medals 23 than anyone in the history of the Olympics. He's a case study in grit. In his autobiography, no Limits, check out those notes. He shares the key character traits he he believes led to his astonishing success. But one of the things he doesn't mention is the fact that his body just so happens to be near perfectly architected for absolute dominance in his chosen sport. He's 6 foot 4, which is perfect. His wingspan is considerably longer than his height. Awesome. And his torso is crazy long. Like crazy long. A normal 6 foot 4 inch guy has a 34 inch inseam. Phelps, his inseam is 30 inches long, which Google says would hover around the petite or small range if he were shopping for women's pants. Now, the swimming gods have blessed that man and of course effort counts twice. And that guy put in the effort of 10 Olympians. So squeezing every drop of potential out of his uniquely shaped body and dominating his sport for a very long time. But that's not quite the point of this plus one. This is James Clear tells us that if we want to achieve greatness in our lives, we need to make sure we're focusing our precious life force in a domain in which our talents and passion are a good fit. If Phelps had tried to be a runner, he would have failed miserably. His dimensions are precisely the opposite of what's required there. He needed to be in a pool for us to see him shine. So today's plus one. What pool do you belong in? Are you in it? Go take your hedgehog out. Check out that plus one for a swim or a walk or a run or whatever it is you love. To do and match your strengths to, to the domain in which you're building the habits to most fully express your life force. Show us what you've got. All of it. Pretty please and thank you.
We hope you enjoyed this episode of Optimize with Brian Johnson. To find out more, go to Optimize Me.
