Brian JohnsonChairman & Philosopher in Residence at Heroic

Early Morning Target Swipes & The Sounds of Nature (Heroic +1 #1,790)

17 Dec 2025 · 3 min

Episode

17 Dec 2025 · 3 min

0:00

Brian Johnson describes his daily morning protocol using the Heroic app: syncing Oura ring data, committing to a set of "heroic" targets (love notes, sleep habits, affirmations, sunlight, supplements), and posting inspiring quotes. He reports long-term engagement with the app (about two years) and a cumulative 73,700 target swipes since launch. The episode mixes pragmatic habit steps (sleep 9–10 hours, bedtime ~9:00pm in summer, early morning sunlight, sending a 5–10 minute love note) with a nature reflection and a closing Henry Van Dyke quote encouraging people to use their talents.

Questions this episode answers

73,700 targets

About two years

Be in bed for nine to ten hours

Go to bed by 9:00pm

About five to ten minutes

Chapters

Hi, this is Brian. Welcome back to another heroic one. Every morning I get up, sync my oura ring 1 2, 3 the data. Send a grab of that data to my heroic brother Sean Casey and Brandon Guyer. Commit to my heroic protocol. Hit some targets from overnight slash that morning, then read and post some inspiring quotes from the app. Then I send my wifey a little love text note that takes me about five to 10 minutes. It's the best five to 10 minutes. I invest in myself every day, setting my intention and recommitting for the day as I get ready to dominate. Then I go to the kitchen where I take a couple supplements and I head outside as I drink some water while getting a couple minutes of early morning sun to reset the old circadian rhythm clock note. By the time I do that, I've already hit about a dozen heroic targets in my protocol, including but not limited to I'm in bed for nine to 10 hours like a world class athlete. Target Swipe. I'm in the best shape of my life. Affirming that target swipe. I feel heroically energized. Another confident mind affirmation. Let's go. I have fun going to bed by 9:00pm it's the summer. Staying up late. I sleep with tape. Target swipe. I sleep in the Citadel. Target swipe. I love starting my day with early a.m. sunlight. Those are for my energy protocol. And here are some heroic love targets I hit first thing in the morning as well. I begin the day with a smile. Target swipe. I appreciate my life. Target swipe. I make my bed. Target swipe. And I send my wife a love note. Target Swipe. That's like me. Now I'm two years into using the app and I'm still hitting 101 heroic targets every day. And I can assure you it is very hard to have a bad day when I do that. Stated positively, it's also very easy to have a lot of very good days when I do the things I know are best for me. Fun fact. I've just checked and I've now hit 73,700 targets in the app since we launched it a little over two years ago. I got goosebumps typing that and saying that I've never felt more on and I'm certain the app has helped lock in all prior games such that my prior best is now my new baseline. Now this morning as I was enjoying the pre sunrise morning light from our back porch, I was struck by the beauty of the sounds on our property as all the little creatures on it were waking up. It was and always is an incredible natural harmony. Then, as I soaked up those sounds, I thought of a wisdom jump from a note I was working on yesterday. Henry Van dyke. Once said, use what talents you possess. The woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best and that's today's poisson. When you hear the sounds of nature today Remember that wisdom. Use the talents you possess Give us all you've got with a joyful smile today.