+1: How to Flip the Switch and GO! (#1316)
17 Dec 2025 · 0 min
Brian Johnson teaches a three-step routine to shift from off to optimal: stand tall, take a deep breath with a focal point, and say a short cue like "What's important now?" or "arete equals heroic." The technique draws from Brian Cain's 10 Pillars and Johnson's Self Control and Discipline.
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Hi, this is Brian. Welcome back to another Heroic One. And we've been having some fun exploring Brian Cain's wisdom on mental performance mastery. As you know, if you've been following along, we started by checking in to see if you've been punched in the face lately. Then we broke some arrows with our neck to dominate the ability plus strategy plus Goya results equation. Then we did some 1% math. Remember, 1% of your day is 14 minutes and 24 seconds of your day. And if you get 1% better every day, you'll be nearly a quadrillion times better in a decade. Then we questioned why we'd want to be average. Then we raised the basement. And most recently, we focused our telescopes and our microscopes on our top goals so we can dominate the day and the decade. Check out all those plus ones. If you missed them, they're linked. In this one. We've been busy. Plus 1%. Plus 1%. Plus 1% for the win. Today I want to wrap up the tour through Brian's brain with one more big idea. From 10 Pillars, this one's on how to flip the switch and go from red lights to green lights. Here's Brian and the characters from his little fable to bring the wisdom. I felt as if I understood the difference between a red light and a green light state. I wanted to learn how to get into a green light state and stay there. You recognize that if you are in a red light state or a yellow light state, you must have a release routine to get you back to green and back in control of yourself. That release routine follows a three step process. Coach Kenny said you need to have a number one, a physical action that you make with an association that that serves as a trigger for releasing the past and moving on to the next play or the next part of your day. You then, number two, take a deep releasing breath that you take while looking at a fixed point we call a focal point to oxygenate your brain and get back in control of yourself. And then you, number three, have a verbal trigger, you say, that cuts off the past and cements your commitment to the present. Coach Kenny then stood up, clapped his hands, took a deep breath, wiped his chest down with his hands as if he were wiping dirt off himself and said, good. What's important now that is from a chapter on pillar number four in Brian's book, Self Control and Discipline. It's kind of like our Flip the Switch protocol in our Mastery series. Here's the quick tick. You feeling disconnected from your best self? Perfect awareness when we're off is always the first, most important step. Now flip the switch and go from what Brian calls red lights to green lights as you invite the best, most heroic version of yourself back to the party. Here's one way to approach it. Number one, stand up strong, chest up, chin down, smile. Number two, take a deep breath in through the nose, down into your belly, back out through your nose. Exhale slightly longer than your inhale. Ah. And number three, say to yourself, close the gap. Arete equals heroic. Or what do I want? What's important now? Let's go. Or calm confidence. I've got this. Or whatever fires you up. Today's +1. The very next time you feel a little wobbly today, how about you flip the switch and go from red to green lights and have fun seeing just how fast you can do it. Stand up strong, chest up, chin down, smile. Take a deep breath and say to yourself, arete equals heroic. What's important now? Let's go. Red lights, green lights. Let's go. Little P.S. here. You want to see some of Brian's elite athletes putting this wisdom to practice to create moments of peak performance. Awesome. Check out the clips in the plus one.
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