A short Heroic+1 podcast by Brian Johnson offering a motivational micro-lesson rooted in etymology and a Latin proverb. Brian shares the Latin phrase “Destitus ventus, remos adibe” (‘If the wind will not serve, take to the oars’) and urges listeners to work harder, get clear on goals, and embody their best, heroic selves through deliberate action and breathwork.
Hey, hero. If you're enjoying these daily plus ones, make sure you head to heroic us to check out all of the other goodness we have to help you activate your best every day. And now, today's plus one.
Hi, this is Brian. Welcome back to another heroic plus one. As you know, if you've been following along, I'm a big fan of my 2084 page American Heritage dictionary. I'm also a big fan of my 14.8 megabyte Apple dictionary. Digging into the etymology of words is one of my favorite things. Yes, that's like me. See the plus ones on confidence, enthusiasm, dominate athlete, mediocrity, antifragility, affluence, hero, optimus, artifice versus bliss, energy, valence, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. All of those words have awesome etymological stories. And they're all linked in this +1. Now, I'm also a big fan of Latin phrases. Here's one of my new favorites. Apologies to the Latin scholars as I mispronounce this. Destitus ventus, remos adibe. Translated as, if the wind will not serve, take to the oars. Little exploding head emoji there. How about you? Life not giving you the breaks you were hoping for? Perfect. Work harder. Period. That's today's plus one. Get clear on what you want, get clear on what you need to do to make it happen. And most importantly, invite the best, most heroic version of yourself to join the party. Flip the switch. Take a nice deep breath in through the nose, down into the belly. Exhale slightly longer than the inhale, chest up, chin down, smile and grab the oars. Let's go, hero.
We hope you enjoyed today's heroic one. For more ancient wisdom, modern science, and practical tools to help you flourish in energy, work and love, head to Heroic US where you can get started on your heroic journey for free.
