Micro Class: Common Denominator of Success
17 Dec 2025 · 1 min
A short micro-class by Brian Johnson that presents the "Common Denominator of Success": successful people habitually do the things failures dislike. The episode opens with a brief promotion for the Optymyze Premium membership (including a 30-day free trial), then explains the main idea with a personal anecdote about choosing discipline over feelings, and closes by promising deeper discussion in future microclasses.
Questions this episode answers
August 27, 2016
30 days (first 30 days free)
Chapters
Hey, this is Brian with a quick note. Before we jump into today's show, if you haven't signed up for the Optymyze Premium membership yet, A what are you waiting for? And B you can now get the first 30 days of optimizing for free. Just cruise on over to Optimize Me and sign up. Over 10,000 people now start their days with Optymyze so they can actualize their potential, including best selling authors, leading entrepreneurs and even NCAA championship teams. Two of them. So again, 30 days of free optimizing at Optimize Me. If you're already a member, thanks for your support. Now for the show.
You're listening to Optimize with Brian Johnson. More wisdom in less time.
Hi, this is Brian. Welcome back to another micro class. This one's on the Common Denominator of Success. Inspired by the little booklet Speech essay, the New Common Denominator of Success. Check out the note, find it online. Here it is. So Albert Gray wanted to discover what it is that makes successful people successful. And what he found reading biographies, autobiographies, etc. Was that successful people make a habit of doing the things that failures don't like to do. Don't like to do. It's that simple. That is our common denominator of success. What does that mean? Well, it means that you if we wanna be more successful, we need to look at all the things that we don't do because we don't like to do them and reorient ourself to them to those activities. And it's different for all of us, obviously. I shared a story in the note about how I woke up this morning when I wanted to create this super early, way earlier than normal. Wasn't feeling particularly motivated when I sat down to do my writing. The old me would have said, oh you know what, I'm not liking this right now. I'm not feeling like it. Right? The new me who is absolutely all in on being committed to making a habit of doing the things that the old me that was less successful and less consistent didn't like to do. Now it's like what does feeling like it have to do with it? And there was actually this moment of awesome where I looked at it and I can kind of observe that little voice in my head just kind of laughed at him, high fived him and then got to work. Like that means nothing to me. It's Wednesday morning and I'm committed to writing a PDF that's non negotiable later. So check in on your life do an inventory and see if you are limiting yourself and allowing your feelings to drive your behaviors more than you'd like to do. We will talk about that more in the next few microclasses. And of course we talk about it in the note and everywhere else. But for now, there you go. That's the common denominator of success. Successful people make a habit of doing things that failures don't like to do.
Isn't it a bit odd that we went from math to science to history, but somehow missed the class on how to live? For some wacky reason, optimal living 101 never made the schedule. Of course, it's too late to go back and change that and you're too busy to read full time to catch up yet. If you're like us, you're all about optimiz your life and actualizing your potential. So imagine this. Imagine having someone read the best books on optimal living and pulling out the big ideas that can truly change your life. You know those sections you asterisk and underline and mark all up. Then imagine that guy me connecting those ideas to other great books and helping you apply them to your life today. Well, that's what I do with something we call Philosopher's Notes where I break down each great book into a simple 6 page PDF, 20 minute MP3 and 10 minute Philosopher's Notes TV episode. Then imagine me taking the absolute best big ideas from those great books and sharing them with you in fun, inspiring, super practical optimal living 101 classes on stuff like purpose 101, confidence 101, business 101, meditation 101, that sort of thing. You've got a personal trainer? I'm kind of like your personal philosopher. Ancient wisdom plus Modern science plus common sense plus virtue plus Mastery plus fun. That's what our optimized membership program is all about. We'd love to have you join us. Check us out at BrianJohnson. Me join.
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