In this Heroic +1 podcast episode, Brian Johnson expands on the third component of his performance framework—self‑talk—after covering posture and breathing. He introduces the concept of a mantra, tracing its Sanskrit origins as a mental tool, and shares how he coached a student, Emerson, to adopt the personal mantra "I've got this" to counter negative inner dialogue. Johnson illustrates the power of committed mantra practice with historical examples, notably Gandhi’s repeated chant of "Rama" at the moment of his death, and reveals his own evolving mantra, "eudaimonia," which he plans to tattoo as a reminder of living a meaningful, purposeful life. The episode ends with a call to action to adopt an empowering phrase, subscribe, and explore further resources on heroic.us.
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Hi, this is Brian. Welcome back to another Heroic Plus One. Not too long ago, we talked about how I coached Emerson to flip the switch rather than freak out. There are 3 elements to that process. First, we get our physical posture dialed in, embodying calm confidence like a matador. Second, we get our breathing dialed in, in through our nose, low and slow. Third, we get our self-talk dialed in, remembering we want to talk to ourselves rather than listen to our often whiny selves. So today we're going to chat more about the 3rd step on self-talk. Now, quick context. One of the many things I love about chess is that, as I've shared, the kids are awesome and so are their parents— humble, smart, passionate, etc. The kids and their parents are also really ethnically diverse. So Emerson has a lot of friends of Indian and Chinese descent. It's wonderful. So here's how I explained self-talk to Emerson. I told him, your Indian friends come from a culture with one of the most powerful spiritual heritages ever. They had an ancient language known as Sanskrit, and in that language they actually had a word for how to talk to yourself. Emerson nodded along, listening. I said, the word they used was mantra. You know what the word mantra means? He said it sounded vaguely familiar. I told him the word mantra literally means a tool of the mind. They used words or phrases to train their minds. It was a deep spiritual practice. We need to use the exact same thing to help you perform at your best when it matters most. He said, that's cool. I agreed. Then we talked about what his mantra could be. He decided He'd go with, I've got this. I told him I love that. And I encouraged him to notice— always the hardest part— the moment when the little gremlins in his mind started saying stupid things to him like, oh no, we're gonna lose, or whatever. And rather than listen to those unhelpful voices, talk to himself like a warrior. I've got this. I've got this. I've got this. I got goosebumps. That's today's plus one. What's your mantra? If you feel so inspired, create an empowering word or phrase and repeat it to yourself all day, every day, especially when the gremlins start barking. You've got this. Day one, all in. Let's go. Little PS, Gandhi's mantra was Rama, which symbolized God's love that he was committed to embodying. He so fiercely and consistently used that mantra that Rama, Rama, Rama were the last words out of his mouth as he said a prayer for the assassin moments after he was shot in the head. Here's to being so committed to our spiritual practices that we have our daimons whispering to us regardless of the circumstances. P.P.S. My next tattoo is going to be eudaimonia in Greek. That has been my mantra over the last X days and weeks. Eudaimonia, reminding me of the joy of living a life of meaning and purpose. Hey, this is Brian. Thanks for spending a few minutes with me today. If you enjoyed it, please hit subscribe so that the best of the show keeps landing in your feed. Then head over to heroic.us. That's heroic.us where you'll find the full library of wisdom I've created over the last 20 years, as well as the app, advanced training programs, coaching, and everything else we've built to help you optimize your life, actualize your potential, and live heroically. It is day 1. We are all in. Let's go.
