A short Heroic +1 podcast (Showing Zealous Care: For Our Ships) in which Brian Johnson reads and reflects on a passage from John Hale’s Lords of the Sea about Demosthenes urging care while the ship is still safe. Brian connects the ancient maxim to modern advice from John F. Kennedy and Peter Attia—emphasizing prevention (take care now rather than later)—and challenges listeners to name one thing to start and one to stop. Episode closes with Michael (President/head coach at Heroic) praising Brian’s digests and promoting Heroic’s resources and app.
Chapters
Hi, this is Brian. Welcome back to another heroic one. In the last several plus ones, we've been spending time with Professor John Hale exploring wisdom from his great book called Lords of the Sea. Today we're going to chat about another big ideas from his great book. Then we'll wrap up the trip to ancient Athens. In our next plus one, let's get to work. Hale tells us, and I quote him again, as he had done so often over the previous decade, Demosthenes addressed the assembly while the ship is still safe and sound. That is when the mariner and steersman and the rest must show their zealous care for it so that it may not be overturned by sabotage or by accident. Once the sea overwhelms the ship, care comes too late. Now, as you probably know, Demosthenes was one of the greatest orators and leaders of ancient Greece. His story is heroic. He learned how to speak powerfully while overcoming a speech impediment so he could defend himself in court after his uncles stole his inheritance. Pretty much the definition of anti fertility. Now that wisdom he shared 2500 years ago reminds me of some modern wisdom from John F. Kennedy, who once said the time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining. It also reminds me of Peter Attia's wisdom in Outlive. He tells us that if we want to increase our lifespan, how long we live and our health span, how long we feel great, we need to do it right now while we're still relatively young and healthy. And that's today's plus one. Just like those ancient mariners, we need to remember that it's a lot easier to prevent disease than to heal it. With that in mind, what's one thing you can do to take care of your ship? More specifically, what's one thing you know you can start doing that would most improve your life? Got it. Awesome. And what's one thing you know you can stop doing that. If you stop doing it would most improve your life. Remember, that's the fastest way to change your life. Get rid of the kryptonites. You got it. Awesome. Now go dominate it all day, every day, especially today.
What's up? This is Michael, President and head coach at Heroic. One quick note before we go. I just think it's so amazing that Brian keeps reading all these books and distilling them into more wisdom in less time. By the way, thank you, Brian for continuing to read the books, distill them for us. I love not having to read the book, just getting them more wisdom in less time through the plus ones of Philosopher's Notes. And if you're into this kind of thing, expressing the best version of yourself and using your greatest gifts to make a positive impact on the world, make sure you head to Heroic Us to check out all the other resources that we have available to you. You can download a bunch of free goodies, including Philosopher's Notes masterclasses in our scientifically proven Heroic app. You can also explore advanced resources to help you go next level, including live and virtual workshops, working one on one with the Heroic Performance Coach, or even becoming a certified coach yourself as you master Heroic Performance, the fundamentals of coaching Excellence, and Heroic Coaching prosperity. Again, head to Heroic Us to get the ancient wisdom, modern science, and practical tools you need to activate your potential and change the world together. And please do hit subscribe, appreciate you, have a fantastic day and see you again soon.
